


Lovely

by jpwriter02



Category: 13 Reasons Why (TV)
Genre: M/M, monty gets justice, monty redeems himself
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-08-16
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:47:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 26,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25523863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jpwriter02/pseuds/jpwriter02
Summary: Picks up at the end of season 3 with some added events as it leads into season 4. Goes the way I wish season 4 had with monty alive, being able to redeem himself, and falling in love with Winston.
Relationships: Montgomery de la Cruz/Winston Williams
Comments: 57
Kudos: 156





	1. Gone

**Author's Note:**

> Some added events to end of season 3, chapter 2 is where things will really start to change. This is also my first fic so I would love some feedback on what I could do better:) Thank you!

Winstons legs suddenly felt extremely weak and he grabbed onto his dresser for support. He asked the man on the phone to repeat himself because he couldn't truly comprehend what he was hearing. One again, the man on the line repeated in a deep and groggy voice "This is Terry from the Evergreen County Jail, I am a guard here. I'm calling to inform you that Montgomery De La Cruz was murdered this morning in his jail cell, you are receiving this call because of your recent visit to him here." 

He opened his mouth, but no words could be produced. He dropped his phone and felt his eyes begin to well. It started with one small tear running down his cheek, then suddenly a waterfall erupted from his eyes and he couldn't contain himself. He curled up into a ball on the floor and sobbed uncontrollably. Luckily, his parents were yet again on some business trip so they weren't there to pretend to care as to why he was sobbing and moaning so loudly. He suddenly felt a wave of loneliness wash over him as he realized how truly alone he was. No parents, no friends, and now, no Monty. People called him horrible things, a monster, a rapist, but Winston knew that was not what was in his heart. In his head, he recounted the days following homecoming, that weekend was the probably the happiest he had ever been. Although Monty had beaten him up last time he saw him, he had decided to give him another chance, since there was something so intriguing about him that he longed and needed to understand.

"Holy Shit" Monty exclaimed after finishing and falling beside him in bed.

"You gonna beat the shit out of me now?" Winston stated sarcastically. 

"I said I was sorry" Winston immediately regretted his words after hearing Monty say this.

"I know, I was just making a joke" Winston said shyly.

Winston sighed as he said "Could give you a ride somewhere? If you don't want to uber."

He could immediately see the hurt in Montys eyes after he said this.

"You trying to kick me out?" This response surprised Winston as he couldn't believe he actually wanted to spend time with him. 

“I just figured you’d wanna go” Was Winston’s hasty reply.

Monty's reply made the butterflies in Winston’s stomach become even more prominent “Well maybe, I want to stay and do that again.”

“Yeah, okay” was the only reply Winston could coax in the moment as he felt his cheeks suddenly redden. 

“I’m not fucking gay”

Winston saw the deep rooted agony in Monty’s eyes from which these words were stemming from. He saw the hurt and the weight that this boy carried on his shoulders. It was much unlike himself, who had been out of the closet since his 12th birthday. Winston knew Monty just needed time to come to terms with his sexuality, he could tell there was a strong sense of shame he carried with the idea of being gay. So, he chose his next words carefully.

“Okay, cool, you can be whatever you wanna be”

Winston only saw the hurt in his eyes grow deeper as a tear ran down Monty’s cheek and he replied sorrowfully with “No, I can’t.”

At that, Monty began to sob uncontrollably. Winston quickly took him in his arms and cuddled him. Monty sobbing into the crook of his neck and Winston massaging back soothingly trying to calm him down. Once the tears had subsided Monty decided to share with Winston the reason why he couldn’t be whatever he wanted to be, and most definitely, why he could never in his life, be gay. 

He explained in detail how since he was born, his dad had always instilled in him the ideals that being gay was by far the worst thing a human could do. How since he could remember, even if there was a gay couple shopping in the same store as them, his dad would immediately leave the store and shop elsewhere, always muttering how “faggots” as he called them should only be allowed to shop in certain stores and not with the rest of the public. Mr. De La Cruz would often hit Monty if he felt he had been hanging out with too many guys and not enough girls, even from a very young age. His mother stayed completely out of it, never once saying anything remotely homophobic, but also never stepping in when his father hit her son, or ranted nonstop about how being gay was terrible while often using homophobic slurs in public or at home. His dad wasn’t just a homophobe however, he was also just an angry and abusive man who also happened to be an alcoholic. He would often beat Monty for no reason in his drunken state. Monty never really fought back, he said he only would ever fight back hard if his dad tried to harm his sister Estela, if he did that, it was game over for Mr. De La Cruz. 

Winston had a lot of trouble relating to Monty’s experiences. While his parents were extremely disinterested in their sons life, and also didn’t care if he was gay or not, they never once were abusive and definitely never would they even dream of hitting him. It became clear to him that Monty had suffered many years of trauma at the hands of his father. 

Monty passed out soon after his little breakdown and subsequent explaining of why he carries so much hate with him. Winston was soon to follow and he slept peacefully in Montys arms. 

The next morning he expected to wake up to an empty bed but was pleasantly surprised to find Monty next to him in the same position they fell asleep in. Winston slowly got up and stretched. As soon as he left his arms Monty began to slowly stir and groggily asked what the time was. 

“10 AM” Winston replied with. Which he followed with “So, my parents won’t be home until tomorrow, if you wanna spend the day together”

After a moment of thought, Monty decided staying here was better than going home and getting the shit beat out of him. He could just tell his dad he went to Charlie’s after the game, he met a girl and they decided to go on a date the following day. His dad would love that story.

Winstons grin grew huge as Monty agreed to his plans of spending the day together. After getting out of bed and getting dressed, they both headed downstairs for breakfast. Because his parents were away so much, Winston had learned to cook from a young age. He made his personal favourite for him and Monty, chocolate chip pancakes. Monty ate two quickly. Exclaiming how he had barely eaten since before the homecoming game. 

After finishing and cleaning up, they opted to watch a movie. They scrolled through Netflix for what felt like an eternity, however Winston was picky, and the simple task of choosing a movie became daunting. Finally, they settled on The Conjuring since they both liked horror movies and neither had seen it. It was only about 30 minutes in and Winston was already being held in Montys arms because he was scared. Eventually, Winston turned his head to make eye contact with Monty, and slowly he leaned in and kissed him passionately, Monty returned the favour while adding some tongue action this time. Soon, as the kiss grew deeper, Winston found himself straddling Monty and grinding their hips together, both of them were harder than rocks at this point. 

Suddenly however, Monty pulled back and pushed him aside. Winston was caught off guard, and at first, didn’t know what to do. Monty was facing forward with this look of anger, fists clenched at either side. Winston realized it was because he still couldn’t accept his own sexuality. He decided to quickly shift the topic, trying to ask how Monty was enjoying the movie. He waited but no response came. Instead he got:

“Maybe I should go”

And with that, Monty got up and began heading for the door. Hearing and seeing this hit him like a truck, while he had only truly just hungout with him for the first time, there was something about Monty De La Cruz that left him wanting more. So, he decided he was gonna fight for what he wanted. 

“Monty, wait” And almost as if he was on command, Monty stopped in his tracks just before he reached the door.

He continued with “We don’t even have to do anything like that at all, I just really like spending time with you, we can literally just hangout.”

He saw Monty begin to soften almost, and saw him unclench his fists and relax his hands at his sides. After what felt like an eternity of silence, Monty turned around and simply said 

“Okay, lets hangout”

He then watched him walk back, sit down on the couch, and pat a spot beside him for himself to come join. And he did just that, they spent the next few hours watching random movies and cuddling on the couch. It wasn’t much, but he realized for the first time in his life that he felt true happiness, he didn’t know what it was about Monty, maybe the edge, maybe the muscle, or maybe just the overall complexity of his inner self. 

The cuddling only remained for those few hours, as the sun got lower and lower, it seemed the barriers Monty had put up around his sexuality did as well. After finishing their third movie, Monty had grabbed his chin and turned his head to face him, he had an apologetic look on his face, probably for his earlier outburst, and it looked like he was about to say something, but Winston knew what he needed to make himself feel better, and it wasn’t words. Before Monty could say anything, he leaned in and kissed him more aggressively. Monty didn’t resist at all this time when he began to straddle the latino in front of him. Monty picked him up, and began to carry him up to his bedroom. 

Monty threw him on the bed and began to strip, and so did he. Monty joined him on the bed and they entered a very deep and sexy kiss. The latinx then decided to turn things up a notch. He grabbed the smaller boy, and turned him around so they were both facing the headboard. He looked back in time to see Monty putting on lube and a condom, then he felt his boxers being pulled down as Monty whispered into his ear “You ready for this?” Followed by a series of neck kisses which only made him be able to moan in response. He felt his body shudder as Monty entered him. He then felt an indescribable feeling of bliss as the larger boy thrusted in and out of him. Monty suddenly said “I’m gonna….” Unable to finish his sentence as he climaxed. He was not short to follow as he did as well all over the bed underneath them.

“Fuck meeee” Monty moaned as fell beside him.

“Okay” He replied sarcastically with a smirk which made Monty giggle. 

“I’m sorry about earlier, I really like spending time with you, its just I’m not gay. I don’t know what I am anymore and I’m sorry I took it out on you. It’s just, literally no one can know about this, my father would murder me, and my friends and the team would disown me” Monty said suddenly very serious.

“It’s totally fine, I understand what you're going through. But just know, I will always be here for you, my house can be your safe space, a judgement free zone where you can be whatever you want to be.” He carefully replied with.

Monty smiled at him and gave him a timid “Thank you”

A short while later, Monty ubered home. He had offered to drive him but Monty said he didn’t want his dad to see him being dropped off by a guy as it would only make him get beaten harder. They exchanged numbers and agreed to “hangout” again soon.

At that point, he didn’t know that in just a week, chaos would ensue both of their lives.


	2. Breaking Down His Walls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Winston decides he needs to be there for Monty when he learns Bryce has died.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing too major in this chapter, just more added events to season 3. I am probably gonna do one more with added events of s3 then get into the way I think s4 should have gone. Thanks so much for your comments and support:) Sorry for this one being so short, I kinda didn't feel like there was much to write for this one as I didn't wanna overdue it. They will get longer from here on out. I hope you are enjoying it:)

Ever since they had spent that night and day together, they had texted nonstop. It was like they were giving each other the play by play of each other’s day. Monty had also told him how he managed to avoid a beating when he got home because he told his dad he had spent the entire time with a girl. He missed Monty so much and yet it had only been two days. He missed every little piece of him. His big arms, his abs, his freckles, his incredible hair, and most of all, he missed the way he made him feel. When he was with Monty he felt something that he assumed was love. Of course, he wasn’t ready to tell Monty that. He had already noticed that whenever he texted Monty “I miss you” or anything related to that, Monty would quickly change the topic. He knew it was because Monty still thought he wasn’t “fucking gay” even though he clearly was, or bi possibly. 

However, when Tuesday rolled around, all hell broke loose. 

He had been at school when he heard the news. The guy who had just transferred to his school, Bryce Walker, had been found dead, and he was suspected to have been murdered. The teacher on the intercom went on to say how grieving counsellors were available for anyone who needed them. While he should’ve been thinking of Bryce, who had just lost his life, the only person on his mind when he heard the news was Monty. 

He had immediately asked to go to the bathroom and upon leaving the classroom pressed the call icon on Montys contact. The first two times went straight to voicemail. Then finally on the third, Monty picked up with a harsh “What?”

“Monty, I just heard the news. Listen, I am so fucking sorry.”

There was a solid minute of silence before a reply came.  
“Yeah, whatever.”

He couldn’t believe the words he had just heard him say. His best friend had died and that's all he had to say??? He decided Monty and himself needed some alone time, and luckily for both of them his parents were out of town yet again.

“Monty I am coming to pick you up from school as soon as it's over, I will park down the street so no one sees me, just past Maple Street in the little cul de sac, see you at 3:15.”

Before he could blow him off or tell him he wasn’t gay or a faggot, Winston hung the phone up. 

His last two classes seemed to drag on and on as he watched the hands of the clock tick by. When the bell finally did go, he raced to his car and immediately headed straight for the other side of town for Liberty. He arrived and parked his car in the exact spot he said he’d be in. He glanced at the clock in his car which read 3:05, ten more minutes and he’d know if he’d be spending the night alone and sad again, or if he would have a much better night with Monty by his side, even if it wasn’t in the best circumstances.

There was a catwalk that led directly from Liberty to the street he was on and he was eyeing it like a CIA agent waiting to see if Monty would appear. He watched the clock tick 3:15, then 3:16, when it hit 3:20 he contemplated giving up and leaving, when suddenly he saw the one and only Montgomery De La Cruz heading straight for him. He almost thought he was hallucinating.

Monty entered the car silently. Winston offered a very shy “Hey….” to no response. He then said “Want to go back to my place and I don't know, watch more movies or something?”

Finally, Monty replied with a simple and emotionless “Yeah”

After a quiet and somber drive, they finally arrived back at his house. During the car ride, he had realized that Monty was close to the breaking point of emotionally breaking down over Bryce. He was trying to hide it, by pretending he didn’t even care that his brother figure was gone, but he could tell he was almost at the point of being able to let his walls down and properly grieve. He had decided that it would be his mission to get Monty to that point where he could accept his platonic love for Bryce, that he was his best friend, no, his brother, and that he was gone, and that he was broken over it. So, as soon as they entered his house, he began to try and accomplish his goal.

“I’m not sure why you're pretending your best friend is gone, but it’s okay to be sad and accept that you loved him!”

Monty’s response was “I didn’t love him, yeah we had some good times but I sure as hell didn’t love another guy.”

While the words hurt, he decided there was no turning back. “Yes you did, love isn’t exclusive to a sexual nature, you loved Bryce like you love your sister for example.”

For some reason, these words hit Monty hard, and suddenly a tear ran down his cheek. “I……” was all he managed to say before the tear was joined by many others.

He ran over and hugged Monty, letting him cry into his chest as they both sat down on the couch. He slowly rubbed his back as he let him get all of his emotions out. 

“He was my fucking brother” He muttered inbetween sobs. 

“I know, I know, don’t worry, everythings going to be okay.”

After nearly 20 minutes of Monty in tears, he finally managed to collect himself and sit up straight. He stated how tired he was so Winston suggested they take a nap. They both laid down in bed, and almost instantly Monty was out cold. They both woke up around the same time, he glanced at his clock, 6:00 PM, only 2 hours had passed. He asked Monty if he wanted some dinner to which he obliged. 30 minutes later, they were silently sharing a pizza that had just been delivered, pepperoni, Monty's favourite. 

“Sorry about earlier” Monty muttered in between bites.

“Ummmm for what exactly?”

“For ya know, crying on you and shit” 

He was shocked that Monty felt the need to apologize for being human.

“You never need to be sorry for being sad and expressing your feelings”

“I do though, I mean it isn’t right for me to get that upset”

He suddenly remembered the long conversation about Monty’s father and his perfect idea of a man, which of course included, never crying and always being the strong one. 

“Monty, you're a human, we all cry, it’s so healthy too, I mean don’t you feel better now that it’s out of your system?”

“Well… I mean actually, yeah I guess it did feel like a big weight off my chest.”

After eating, they decided to go for a drive, only in areas approved by Monty of course, he couldn’t bear the thought of someone he knew seeing him with Hillcrest’s token gay guy.

After driving around in the setting sun, they opted to return home. Monty couldn’t stay the night as he had the school next day and he didn’t feel like getting the shit beat out of him 10 times worse because he didn’t come home the night before. Monty told him he would just tell his dad he was out fucking some girl, which of course his dad would eat right up because he loved the idea of his son with girls. He would probably shoot himself if he ever found out that his own offspring was actually still a virgin before he hooked up with a guy and had never done more than kiss a girl. His car was still parked at Liberty, so after saying their goodbyes, and to his complete surprise Monty agreeing to hangout with him again, they went their separate ways. He remembered driving home with a huge grin on his face, for some reason, whenever he was with Monty, he couldn’t stop smiling.


	3. Coming Clean

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some added events to an event that happened in s3 and more.

The next day, he had decided to give Monty some space. He had opened up a lot to him the previous night about he and Bryce's relationship over the years. How whenever his dad was drunk and tried to hurt him, or did hurt him, he would sneak out and stay at Bryce’s and sometimes bring Estela if he thought she was in danger. Bryce’s parents would also often buy Monty clothes and school supplies since his parents didn’t care enough to buy him any. Monty also said he understood that Bryce was a rapist, that he had done some terrible things while he was alive. He said he always just tried to make excuses for them, but that now he understood how terrible they were. He had hurt a lot of people, but Monty had insisted that he truly did want to change, that near the end he had seen a change in him, something inside him seemed to click and he truly thought that if given the chance, Bryce could’ve shown everyone that redemption and change was possible. He also went on to say how much he regretted the last ever conversation he had with his brother.

It was right before the homecoming game, Bryce had come in to wish them good luck and had asked for a minute alone with Monty, to which he had made Charlie stay with him. He wouldn’t say what exactly it was he had done, all Monty would tell him is that he had done something horrible, something he regretted everyday, and that Bryce had found out and was threatening him with it. Upon realizing Bryce knew, Monty had panicked and tried to turn it around saying Bryce was the last person who should be telling him how to act and run his life. Long story short, they got into a heated argument which ended with Monty feeling like he needed to destroy him. And he did just that, he spent the entire game trying to literally break Bryce in half on the field. He felt so betrayed, how the person he looked at more than a friend had just blackmailed him. After the game, things only went more downhill, he followed Bryce back to the bus, and the last words he said to him kept replaying in his head. “Monty, you're just a coward, you always have been.” It was right after that conversation that Monty had spotted him clicking pictures by his audi, Monty explained that upon seeing him he felt instant regret and realized he needed to make things right. And after doing that, they of course spent such an amazing weekend together.

He had not heard from Monty all day, he expected this to continue. His surprise was immeasurable when he felt his phone buzz only to see a text from the latino himself asking if he could come over. Luckily for both of them, his parents would not return from their trip until the following day. 40 minutes later he saw headlights pulling into his driveway and felt butterflies form in his stomach. He heard a knock on his door and almost tripped because of how fast he sprinted to it.

He opened it and said “Hey, I….” His words were cut off by Monty pulling him in to a very sudden and aggressive kiss. This caught him so off guard that he pulled away for a second, just a second, then immediately leaned back in. After a couple minutes of aggressively making out, Monty literally picked him up, and began carrying him up the stairs to his room. 

As soon as they were in his bedroom Monty practically tore off his own clothes before helping him. He had almost ripped his shirt from pulling on it so hard. Monty was being so aggressive and it was only making him hornier by the minute. Monty threw him on the bed and pounced onto it right after. After some foreplay and some making it, Monty flipped him so he was on all fours and facing the headboard. He pulled down his boxers and then his own. He watched Monty slip on a condom. Monty then whispered into his ear, “I hope your fucking ready” and with that entered him, making his whole body shudder. He thrusted in and out at such a fast pace he found himself in a state of ecstasy. As he was doing this, Monty used one of his free hands to reach under and start to jerk him off as he continued thrusting. This pushed him over the edge as he exploded all over the freshly washed sheets. Monty wasn’t far behind as he suddenly let out an incredibly loud moan as he filled the condom. Monty fell beside him but he was frozen in place for another minute before relaxing and falling on the bed. That was by far, the best sex he had ever had. By far. He already knew he liked Monty, and he thought it was time to share his true feelings, even if Monty claimed he wasn’t “fucking gay” or whatever, he knew he was, and he needed to be honest about how he felt.

“Monty, we need to talk” He spoke softly as he was nervous.

“Okay, about what?”

“Us, L-Listen, I know we’ve only hungout a couple times, but I can tell your a great guy, and I think I’m starting to…” He was cut short by Monty saying:

“Winston, I can see where this is going, I already told you, I’m not fucking gay” He said this with an angry tone that made Winston flinch, but he held strong.

“I don’t believe you, I mean, we’ve hooked up like 3 times.”

This only made Monty angrier as he snapped back at him:

“You don’t know how I fucking feel or anything about me even”

He was speechless at this and could only stare into space as Monty hurriedly got up and got dressed, and started heading for the bedroom door. Upon realizing what he was watching, he hastily threw his boxers and a t shirt and ran downstairs to see Monty putting his shoes on. 

“Monty, wait, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that, it's way too soon and I know you're still so upset about Bryce.”

“Like I said before, you don’t know shit about me and definitely not about how I feel! Just stay the fuck away from me faggot!”

And he could only watch as Monty slammed the door on his way out.

He felt like he wanted to cry but he managed to suppress his tears. He didn’t even feel like crying. It was his fault completely he knew. He knew it wasn’t the right time, Bryce had just died, and Monty was still heavily closeted, but he still did it because he’s an idiot. He somberly walked back up the stairs, threw himself on his bed, and buried his face in his pillow which still smelt like Monty. And he suddenly couldn’t get enough of the aroma as he inhaled it like a drug.

As he was lying there, he felt his phone buzz, he grabbed it at light speed with the hope that it might be Monty, but it was someone that he had never heard of before, someone named Clay Jensen who had messaged him on facebook with the message:

“Hey, you don’t know me, but I found your ID card at my school, I go to Liberty, and I’d like to return it, can you meet me at Monets tomorrow at 3?”

After a moment of thought, and realizing he had nothing else to do since he had no friends, and now, no Monty, he replied back with a:

“Yes, thank you so much for reaching out, see you then:)”

After finishing school the next day at 2:30, he headed out to his car, then started the 20 minute drive downtown to meet this Clay Jensen character. He arrived 10 minutes early, so he headed inside, ordered coffee, and sat down at a booth table near the middle of the store. 5 minutes later he saw Clay, with another girl in tow enter, he recognized him from his profile picture. Clay recognized him also, after properly introducing himself, and also his friend who’s name was Ani, he sat down and handed him the ID. Upon seeing it, his heart dropped. He realized it was the fake ID that Brian Chiu had used to take the SAT for him. He regretted it deeply, but when you're part of a generation of Princeton grads, and don’t have the grades to get in, you need to take extreme measures. He then remembered how shortly after Monty had beaten him up at that party, Bryce had somehow gotten the ID from Brian and blackmailed him to keep his mouth shut. The two teens of course asked why Bryce had threatened him, at first, he didn’t want to out Monty, he could just as easily make up some phony story, but he still hadn’t gotten over the previous night, so he decided to just tell the truth. He recounted all the events, including the moment with Monty, and then him getting beaten up over it. Although he felt bad for outing him, he also was still extremely hurt by Monty’s words the night before, so in a sick way, he felt like he had balanced the scale. After telling them that, they thanked each other and said their goodbyes. 

He drove home, asked how his parents' trip was, they obviously didn’t ask how he was or what he had done in the past week since they were much too busy with their own lives to care. He went to his room, and did some homework long past the sun going down and darkness engulfing the sky. It was just after 9:00 PM when his phone rang, he looked and it was a number he had never seen before, anyhow, he picked up and the message rang out: 

“This is a collect call from the Evergreen County Jail, to accept charges press 1”

He didn’t know what to do as he had no idea who he could know that might be in jail, so he decided to find out, he pushed 1 and waited a second before saying:

“Hello?” Then hearing:

“Winston, its Monty, listen, I’ve been arrested”

His mouth dropped and he felt like he had just been punched in the gut like never before. All previous anger he had towards him immediately disappeared when he heard these words. 

“W-What, what the fuck do you mean??”

“I’m in jail, I got arrested last night about an hour after I left your house”

“What the hell did you do to get arrested?”

He heard Monty sigh and could hear him choking up after he said this.

“L-Listen, I really want to tell you in person, can you maybe come down here to see me tomorrow? Please?”

He didn’t hesitate at all when he told him he’d be down there first thing tomorrow, he would just skip his first period. At that, Monty said he had to go since his phone privileges were done for the night, he said goodbye and hung up. That entire night, he tossed and turned trying to figure out what he had done so wrong that caused him to get arrested.He made the connection that it must have had something to do with the thing Bryce had blackmailed him with before the homecoming game.

9 AM couldn’t come fast enough, that was when visiting hours began at the county jail and it felt like an eternity before he was walking into the visitation cell. He couldn’t help but stare as he saw Monty being led by two guards into the room. He came in, and sat down across from him. They both sat in silence before he finally spoke up. 

“Thanks for coming, and sorry for the other night, I’m just still trying to figure all my shit out, and you know my dad would kill both of us if he ever found out.” Monty said

“Of course I came, and don’t be sorry, but Monty, you need to tell me why you're in here.”

He looked up at him and they locked eyes, he could tell it was taking everything inside Monty to stop himself from bursting into tears. At first, he resisted, by saying:

“You’ll never look at me the same. I mean, you’ll see that I really am a monster, and you’ll leave like everyone else once they realized I’m just a worthless piece of shit.” 

He slammed his fist on table making Monty flinch and stated angrily “Don’t you ever say that again, nothing you have done could ever make me change how I feel about you”

This sudden flare of rage took Monty by surprise, and he sighed before looking down and telling him what had happened.

“I-I was just so angry at him, sooo fucking angry at him”

He could feel his palms sweating, he didn’t know where he was going with this, but he knew Monty had fucked up bad. 

“This kid, Tyler Down, vandalized our baseball field, and he ruined our whole season and tried to make us all look like rapists. He got a little slap on the wrist and I decided I wanted to teach him a lesson.”

In the last sentence Monty’s voice had trembled and he realized how hard this must be for him.

“He was walking around the school like he fucking owned the place and it made me so angry. I let my rage get the best of me, me and two other guys followed him into the bathroom, I beat the shit out him, real bad, and then…”

Monty couldn’t finish his sentence as a tear ran down his cheek and he held his face in his hands, his whole body trembling as he struggled to keep it together. He finally continued:

“Then, I saw a mop laying on the floor, and I didn’t even think, my body was acting on it’s own a-and I…...fucking raped him with a mop handle”

At that, Monty started silently sobbing and he was barely able to finish his sentence. He moved his chair closer to Monty and started rubbing circles on his back trying to get him to calm down. 

“My dad came to see me yesterday, can you believe it ? Cause I sure can’t believe that the bastard actually gave enough shits to waste the gas to drive down here and see me”

He didn’t know how to respond to what Monty had just said, so he just sat quietly while he continued.

“Well, the good thing is, I finally had the courage to come out to him, he asked me if I was a faggot, and I said I was, I just realized that I had no life left, so miswell let him know before I get beaten to death in here, but then that fucker spat on me, now, his beatings hurt, but this, this was worse than any beating I’ve ever received from him. He spat on his own son because he can’t accept who he is” 

He was speechless at this point, he just sat there staring at Monty with his mouth hanging open. Unsure of what to say, he changed the topic.

“Monty, do you have a lawyer?”

“Yea some public defender, he already told me it isn’t looking good for me”

“Okay, well fuck that guy, my parents are lawyers, some of the best in California, they left a few hours ago for another business trip but I’m gonna talk to them when they get back in two days about taking on your case”

“Winston, are you nuts? I barely had enough money to pay for food, let alone some fancy lawyer”

“Obviously I will take care of it, just focus on staying alive in here and give me a few days”

“No, your not wasting shit tons of money on some rapist”

“Monty, you're not just some rapist, you're just a kid who’s been beaten down and snapped at the wrong moment, you fucked up, and if anyone deserves a second chance, it’s you. And you’re important to me, so yes, I will be spending shit tons of money on you, but it’s definitely not going to waste”

He could tell Monty was unsure of what to say, so he gave him a meek:

“Why do you care about me so goddamn much?”

“There’s something about you, I’ve just, never felt true happiness until I saw you at that party all those months ago.”

“Thank you” Was all he could get Monty to say. He didn’t expect much though based on his current circumstances.

“Of course”

And with that, they said their goodbyes, and he left Monty in jail. 

He went home, and even though it wasn’t for a couple days, he already started thinking about what he would say to his parents to convince them to take on this case.


	4. Alive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He’s back:))

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that I’m writing back in the present, gonna start writing it in different POV’s

Winstons POV

“Montgomery De La Cruz was murdered this morning in his jail cell, you are receiving this call because of your recent visit to him here." 

Those words were like a broken record in my head, repeating over and over again. It had been an hour since I had received the call that truly shattered me. I still can’t believe that as I slept in my warm, comfy bed, Monty was breathing his last breaths as he died in his dank, dark, prison cell. I have run out of tears to cry, my eyes are puffy and redder than blood. I can’t believe that just over 24 hours before, I had sat across from him and told him how I could get one of my parents to defend him and likely save him from doing any time. All I want in this moment is him here with me. And I could tell him how I truly felt, and how it was okay to be “fucking gay”, that the football team wouldn’t care, his sister and probably even his mom wouldn’t care, I can’t wrap my head around the fact that his father was the one person who had held him back from coming out of the closet. How it took for him to get arrested, and possibly going to jail for him to finally admit to the man that he was gay. 

Although I had barely known him, I loved him. We only spent a little bit of time together but I truly had loved him and I know it. 

It was now 1PM, 3 hours had passed and I still wasn’t able to keep any food down. No matter what I ate, I would almost immediately throw it back up simply because I couldn’t get Monty out of my head. The thought of him in his final moments on that cold hard floor….No, it was too terrible to think, I need to get my mind off of things. I start aimlessly scrolling through facebook but as I’m scrolling I think I pass something with Monty’s name. Great, now I’m sad and I’m going crazy. But as I scroll back up, my eyes widen as I realize what I saw was real, and I gasp as I read the news headline.

“Montgomery De La Cruz revealed to be Bryce Walker’s Killer”

I can’t click on the article fast enough, as I skim through the article, the rage inside me only grows and starts to bubble as I realize someone has framed Monty for Bryces murder. The article of course also goes on to say how he was murdered in his jail cell. After finishing, I layed down in bed and I am now in deep thought, racking my brain trying to piece together how and why someone would frame him. I have the his alibi, and the proof, to take to the cops, and I will, but first, I wanna understand why someone would do this and also partly because I was Monty’s secret, and I don’t want to out him to the world now that he is gone, I already regret it enough from when I did it the first time. And there it is again, I feel a wave of sadness pass over me from thinking of that dreaded word, “gone.” The obvious comes to mind, the kid he raped, after asking around from some people he knew at hillcrest, he found out the boy's name was Tyler Down. So I pick my IPad back up, and search him on facebook, and that's when the realization hits me. He is friends with Clay Jensen and that Ani Achola girl that he brought along when they randomly found his ID card. I am such an idiot, I never even asked them where they found that fake ID card, I should’ve known that they were just trying to dig up dirt on Monty. It was one of them, had to be. So, I decide to message Ani, she seemed to be the nosiest between her and Clay and the way she was asking questions seemed like she was looking for ammo to shoot down Monty.

Surprisingly just a few minutes later, my phone buzzes and I see a new message on facebook. I had simply messaged her saying “I know what you did to him.” While it was quite mysterious and blunt, if she was guilty, I would be able to figure it out from her response. She responded with “Come to Monets and let's talk.” A theory is one thing, but getting it right is a whole different feeling. I can’t believe the bitch actually did it, she fucking framed Monty. I started to dial the number for the police station, but then I remembered how I originally wanted to understand why someone would do it, before I publicly outed Monty. So, I slipped on some jeans, a grey jacket and a scarf for the cold and headed for my car. After finally getting there I texted her again telling her to come outside. After hearing the bell on the door jingle and turning around and seeing her, I almost can’t keep my composure. I am face to face with the person that framed Monty for murdering his brother. I decide to break the silence between us.

“So, what’d you tell the cops?”

“Winston…”

I cut her off and say more demandingly “What’d you tell em?”

I can see the nerve in her eyes as she says sympathetically “He was already gone”

I almost let myself freak out at that point. As if him being dead makes what she did any better. 

“He was a human being. Okay. He was a human being. And he didn’t deserve to die like that”

She was looking down at this point as she said “Winston, I truly am sorry that he is gone, but please, being angry at me or anyone else is not going to bring him back.”

“Fuck you” I am starting to let some of my rage slip out.

“Okay, I admit I deserve that”

“You deserve a lot fucking more than that. Monty was with me the night Bryce died, I am taking you the fuck down” Checkmate, I think to myself and her face says it all. She is stunned.

She opens her mouth but can’t seem to form any words. I’ve had it with her, I turn around and storm off.

After getting in my car I decide not to go home yet as I’ll just end up sobbing again when I think about him. As I drive around aimlessly, I find myself back in a familiar neighbourhood. I don’t even know what I am doing as I pull over, put my car in park and just stare at the house in front of me. It’s Priscille’s house. This was the house where I met the first boy I ever truly loved, and for the first time I felt genuine happiness. It was at that party in the middle of the summer that me and Monty had hooked up for the first time. It was incredible. Although it had ended with me getting my face knocked in, it was my fault for asking an obviously heavily closested and confused boy to “hangout” again in front of his friends. And that's why I was so ready to take him back when he apologized. I could tell he was genuine in his apology, and that he was just not ready to come to terms with who he was, and that was okay, I could work with that. I was so lost in thought I hadn’t even noticed the tears had returned with a newfound force and were rapidly flying down my cheeks. I also hadn’t realized that nearly 30 minutes had passed of me just sitting here. I guess time didn’t fly only when I was with him, even when I was thinking of him time would pass at record speeds. I decided it was time to get home, my parents were gonna be home tomorrow and I had to get ready to put on a happy face around them.

The rest of the day just merged together and seemed like a blur. I watched some TV, then ate some dinner, finally being able to keep food down, now I’m back in my usual spot, laying on my bed while scrolling through instagram and looking at my favourite photography accounts. I still couldn’t decide if I could bring myself to go to the police or not. I couldn’t believe it, but I was starting to lean towards not doing it because of Ani. Not that I liked her or anything, but obviously she had done this for a reason, I mean, Bryce was a horrible person, he hurt a ton of people and….”No”, I thought to myself. There was no way in hell that Monty was going to be remembered as a rapist AND a murderer. But, I still think I need time to just process everything that has happened, then I would do it. I will sleep on it now, and in the morning start to figure everything out. And with that, I turned off my lamp and shut my eyes.

BEEP BEEP BEEP

Was all I heard as I slowly opened my eyes and remembered I had school today. Ughhh, I hate school so much. I can’t even fathom the thought of continuing it at a place like Princeton. The day was normal, and luckily it went by fast, which meant I could get home sooner and continue my daily routine of being alone with no one to talk to but my own thoughts. When I got home I was expecting to get some lecture from my parents about my dropping grades but luckily I dodged that as they had left a note saying they were both going to be working late. I turned on the TV and tried to find something to watch. After watching some old episodes of Friends I decided to do something I never did, my homework. After working for hours and hours on work that was probably overdue by months, I went to bed, what an exciting night for Winston Williams I thought to myself as I passed out. 

I suddenly woke up and didn’t fully realize why. I saw the sun shining through the curtains, so I knew it was morning, but then I also realized my phone was ringing on my nightstand. I didn’t even bother to look at the number as I was so tired, I just clicked the accept button and offered a semi-annoyed “Hello”

“Thank god you picked up”

Well, now I was fucking awake. I sat up in bed, speechless and only offered small gasps as I tried to put together a sentence. I even pinched myself to make sure I wasn’t still dreaming.

“Hey, you there?” The voice on the other end said.

“Monty?”

“Yeah, it’s me” He said

“W-wha-what the fuck is going on? I mean they said you were dead!!”

“I know, it’s a long and complicated story, I really want to see you, and I’ll tell you everything if you come see me”

I didn’t even need to think twice “I’ll be there in 20” I said as I hung up the phone, threw some clothes on, and within 2 minutes I was already in my car driving. Thank god I didn’t pass any cops cause they pry would have arrested me for the speed I was driving the whole way there. 

I sat in the visiting room, tapping my foot like crazy on the floor as I waited and checked my watch literally every second. I almost squealed when I saw him. Holy shit, he really was alive. He came in, sat across from me, and I sat there looking like an idiot with my mouth hanging open. Although he wasn’t dead, it was obvious he wasn’t living his best life here. He was covered in bruises and had fresh stitches on the left side of his head. 

“Hey” he said, and I didn’t know how to react. 

“What the fuck happened?” I ask

He sighs before explaining how he wound up “dead.” He said that the day he supposedly died, he was coming out of the shower, and when he did, the guard gave him the wrong jumpsuit back, he gave him a different prisoner’s, and another prisoner got his. Well, the prisoner who got his, ended up getting into a fight that morning and dying. When they ran the number on his jumpsuit, it came back as Montgomery, so they reported him as dead even though he actually wasn’t and there had been a severe mixup. He went on to say that although he hadn’t been killed, he was close to it, he said that the beatings have become so severe that a guard or two escort him everywhere. 

“Jesus Christ” Was all I could mutter in response.

“Yeah, on and top of all that, I’m being fucking framed for Bryces murder.” Monty snapped. 

“I know, it’s Ani and her little group of minions”

“Those fuckers, I always knew they had it out for me”

“Monty, I need to alibi you for that night, I know what that means for you but there’s no choice.”

I saw Monty tense, he seemed to be in thought before deciding to speak “My bastard father already knows, I don’t care anymore, I’m ready”

I knew I shouldn’t start bringing up how much I had missed him and loved him, so I opted to talk about more prominent issues.

“Okay, listen, I’m gonna talk to my parents tonight and get them to start working on getting you out of here. And don’t argue with me cause it’s happening. I’m also gonna go talk to the police about me being your alibi.”

“Okay, thank you.” Was all he said. 

“Just do what I said before, keep your head down, and focus on just staying alive and keeping it together in here.”

“Okay, I will, I promise”

“I need to get going, but I’ll be back soon with more updates. I’m gonna talk to my parents tonight and then go to the police tomorrow.”

“Okay” 

“Goodbye Monty”

“Bye, and ugh t-thanks for coming”

I just smiled at him before turning and leaving. The whole ride home I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face. Like I said before, whenever I was with Montgomery De La Cruz, I couldn’t stop smiling.


	5. Jailtime

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kind of just the last couple chapters through Monty's eyes with some added events:)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Love the support I'm getting with this. I have so many ideas and can't wait to share with them you. Going to be the way I think s4 should've gone:) Updates will be much more frequent now.

Monty’s POV

I felt numb inside. I had just slammed the door on him and was walking back to my car. I shouldn’t have snapped on him. It wasn’t right. But whatever, it was bound to happen one day anyway. I never let anyone love me, or even get close to me, why the fuck would I let him ? I could tell where he was going with his words. He was about to tell me how he liked me and wanted to go on a date or some other faggot shit like that.And there it was again, that word. I never even thought twice when I said it or even thought about it, but now I was. And I knew why. When I had called him a faggot, the look in his eyes, it had this effect on me, I immediately regretted it. As soon as the words left my mouth it looked like 1000 daggers had just pierced his heart. But whatever, I didn’t want him to start caring about me too much before I fucked it up like I do with everyone who tries to get close to me.

I used to have friends, at least I thought I did. I had Bryce since elementary school. He was my brother though, more than a friend. I also at one point had Scotty, until he realized how fucked up I was and left me out to dry. I don’t blame him, I am fucked up, I don’t let people care about me. I can’t explain why it’s just who I am. All I want to do is get through high school and get the fuck away from my bastard father who would rather see me dead then have to worry about feeding me every day. 

All these thoughts were ringing through my head as I drove home from Winstons. I tried to just push it all out of my head and get mentally ready to face my father. I just prayed and prayed he was already passed out drunk when I got home. I pulled into the driveway and threw it in park. I didn’t see any lights on which was a good sign. I walked in and it seems my prayers were answered. He was passed out in his armchair with a beer still clutched in his hand. I grabbed some water and headed to my room to work on some homework. I sat there, trying to make sense of my math homework but of course I was too stupid to even understand the most basic questions. About an hour had passed when there was a knock on the front door. I had no idea who it could be. I opened the door and to my shock there were two cops in uniform standing there, I noticed the flashing blue and red lights behind them. One of them spoke up saying:

“Montgomery De La Cruz?”

I only nodded as I was still in a bit of shock

“Turn around and place your hands behind your back”

The cop started doing it for me and I didn’t even resist as I didn’t even realize what the fuck was going on. As we were walking through my front yard, it hit me like a freight train, I was being arrested. I felt the anger bubbling inside me.

“My father beats the shit out of me and I’m the one in cuffs?” I said angrily as I was getting closer to the car.

“Your under arrest for sexual assault in the first degree” The cop replied back almost matter-of-factly. 

I felt a wave of shame and regret wash over me. I guess this is what it’s like to feel remorse. I had always felt super guilty after what I did to Tyler, but I just couldn’t bring myself to apologize or anything. That would mean confronting the problem, which is not something I am good at. I felt like sobbing as soon as I got put in the car but I held back my tears. I wasn’t gonna let these cops think that I was some pussy.

After they took my picture and the rest of it I finally got to my cell. I sat on my bed and just became lost in my own thoughts. I managed to push the thought of why I was there out of my mind, but there was something else I wasn’t able to push away. Winston. No matter how hard I tried, the thought of him just wouldn’t go away. I regretted calling him a faggot, which was weird cause I’ve been calling people that for years and never once felt an ounce of remorse. After travelling down the rabbit hole in my own mind, I managed to finally relax enough to get some sleep. 

The next morning I was awoken by a guard telling me I had a visitor.   
I walked into the visitation area and there sat my father. He glared at me as I sat down without even saying hi.

“Hey dad” Was all I could think to break the silence.

“I hope you're happy with what you’ve done, because your mother hasn’t stopped crying since yesterday and your sister hasn’t even stepped foot out of her room. Is it true what they're saying you did?”

“What exactly are they saying ?” I ask

“You know what the fuck their saying?! That you raped a fucking boy, a classmate!”

“Well, their not wrong” was the only response I could come up with. At this point I saw my dad's face redden.

“Why a boy!? What are you? Some kind of faggot ?”

“Well guess what, I fucking am”

I’ve never seen someone look so stunned and so angry at the same time. He stood there with his mouth hanging open, but then his face contorted into complete anger. At this point, I didn’t even care. I knew what was coming to me in prison. At least I could have the last laugh by telling my dad I was gay before I got beaten to death in prison and he couldn’t even lay a finger on me. 

“You are going to get the shit beaten out of you in here. Your gay and your a child molester. If they don’t beat the gay out of you they’ll just kill you.”

“Yeah, well at least none of these beatings will be coming from my dad”

He had a disgusted look on his face as he stood up to leave. Just as he was about to however, he turned to face me. I thought he was going to say something but I was instead hit by his saliva as he spat on me. I couldn’t believe it. He could use words and hit me as much as he wanted, but nothing felt worse than my own father spitting on me. I let a tear run down my cheek as I tried unsuccessfully to wipe the spit off of my face. After that, I went back to my usual position in my cell, me sitting there with my head in my hands thinking about Winston. I was stolen out of my day dreaming about an hour later when I was told I had yet another visitor. The guard made a joke about how popular I was. When I looked into the visitation room, I couldn’t believe who it was. Scotty fucking Reed. Last year, he told Clay Jensen and his freak friends that I was the one who had all the polaroids from the clubhouse. I didn’t, but still I couldn’t believe that him of all people would just sell me out like that to them. 

I angrily scoffed as I sat down across from him. 

“Monty, How are you doing?”

If I wasn’t in prison I would've punched him hard enough to break his nose when he said those words.

“Fuck you. You think you can just show up here and pretend like we’re still friends. You played me, remember?”

“Okay well, I’m sorry, I truly am. I just….I really did think you had the polaroids. Especially after all that shit you pulled on Clay on his friends, I mean, you gotta admit, it didn’t look very good for you.”

“That doesn’t mean shit, I fucking trusted you and you betrayed me.”

“What else can I say besides I’m sorry and I fucked up?!”

“Ya whatever, I’m over it anyway.” I grumpily mumbled mostly cause I was sick of arguing and I kinda missed having Scott around anyway.

“So why exactly did you come to see me?” I added on.

“I-I...I heard about what you did. And I feel semi-responsible for it.”

I gave him a confused look. I mean, it’s not like he told me to go rape the kid.

He continued: “I always knew that you were an angry person, and that your father hit you. I saw the bruises and the broken bones, but like everyone else I stayed quiet and never asked if you were okay. I mean, I was your friend, I should’ve been there to help you. I mean, I saw the abuse and the anger it caused inside you. So, I’m sorry, cause maybe if I had asked if you needed help sooner then maybe this wouldn’t have happened.”

I was speechless. No one had ever directly said anything about the bruises and injuries I came to school with, let alone seemed to care where they came from. I realized two things in that moment, that I missed Scott and I was willing to forgive him, and that I no longer wanted to be that angry person. The first step in changing would be to forgive Scott. 

“T-Thanks Scott.” I said quietly with my head down. Forgiving him didn’t mean I had to get all sappy with him. 

“Listen, I have to get going, but I’ll be back in a few days. Okay…...Okay?”

“Yeah” I said again quietly but now looking at him. And with that, he got up and left.

I felt like I was on a roll, cause right after I had phone privileges, and decided to call Winston to make things right with him.

I didn’t even get a chance too and as he was too surprised that I was arrested and wouldn’t stop asking questions. He agreed to come visit me the following morning. I had trouble falling asleep that night. All I could think about was Winston’s reaction when I told him what I did. He would realize I was a worthless child molester, he would leave, and I was alone again. Seemed like a pretty endless cycle. I also thought about Estela. I had tried calling her twice now but each time she never picked up. My dad said she hadn’t left her room. I don’t even wanna imagine what she thinks of me now. 

I didn’t even remember falling asleep. I was awoken early by a guard who told me the usual news, I had a visitor. I felt my stomach drop, this was the moment I had been dreading. Telling Winston just the kind of person I really was. The kind that hurts others to make himself feel better. 

The visit with Winston actually went much better than I had expected. I actually left, feeling okay. He seemed to actually give a shit about me which was nice. He told me also how he was gonna talk to his parents about representing me as a lawyer. For the first time in my life, it actually felt like everything was going to be okay. 

The rest of my day was like no different than any other. I had breakfast, lunch, and dinner in my cell, had my one hour of recreation time, and pretty much just laid on my bed lost in thought. Eventually, it was time to go to sleep, I did have one thing to look forward to tomorrow, it was my shower day which would feel nice considering I hadn’t had one since I had been arrested. 

I woke up early this time and was already awake when the guard came to take me to the shower room. It felt amazing. The hot water mixed with the shampoo in my hair and running down my body was incredible. I didn’t even take notice of the 5 other guys in the shower with me, I didn’t care, it felt amazing to be clean. That was until it was ruined when I was suddenly hit from behind. I fell on the ground and felt a foot kick me in my stomach, I winced hard at the pain. I felt two more on my pack and then one guy picked me up and punched me across the face. Me being attacked was brief as suddenly three guards rushed in and pulled them off of me. 

The injuries were a lot less worse than they looked. The three guys apparently did it because they heard I was a child rapist and honestly, I don’t blame them. So now, I’m gonna have a personal guard escort me everywhere to make sure I don’t get attacked again. Guess it’s the perk of being the most hated guy in jail. I performed my already planned out for me daily routine of just sitting and doing everything in my cell, until my one hour of recreation time. I was about to head outside for my rec time when my personal escort, aka guard, told me that Sheriff Diaz was here to see me. I didn’t know what it could possibly be about and I was trying to think as he led me into a private interview room near the back of the jail. I sat across from Diaz and as soon as I did, he placed what looked like a bloody cassette tape on the table.

“You know what this is Monty?”

“No” I said confusedly.

“It’s a cassette tape that Bryce made before he died, his blood is on it, and can you guess where we found it?”

“How the fuck am I supposed to know?” I started to get angry as I didn’t like being interrogated.

“Your football locker. Now can you explain how this ended up there?” 

I stared at the cassette dumbfounded. “I don’t fucking know but I sure as hell didn’t put it there” Okay, now I was really angry.

“Where were you the night Bryce Walker died?”

I knew exactly where this was going. “I already told some other cop, I was at Charlie St. Georges for the Homecoming afterparty”

“Really? Then can you also explain to me why Charlie St. George just told us that you weren’t actually there?” He said while raising his eyebrows.

That little fucking weasel. He fucking screwed me.

“The fuck are you talking about? I was at his fucking house celebrating the fucking game!” I was nearly yelling at him by this point.

“Tell me where you really were Monty.”

“I…….” I trailed off. I don’t know why but I just couldn’t admit it. It was so weird, I could save my own ass right now but I just couldn’t get the words to leave my mouth.

“Montgomery, your being charged with Bryce Walkers murder, so I suggest you start talking.”

I lost it. “I DIDN’T FUCKING KILL HIM!” I screamed while shooting up and knocking over my chair. At this, a guard came in and dragged me out and took me back to my cell.   
I didn’t eat for the rest of the day. I layed in the same spot on my bed until it was time for lights out. Diaz’s words kept replaying in my head. “Your being charged with Bryce Walkers murder.” They thought I actually had killed my own fucking brother. I thought about this for hours, and then I remembered the cassette tape and Charlie. I was being fucking framed. I had no idea how that cassette got in my locker, I don’t even know what’s on it. And fucking Charlie, I mean I actually really liked having him around. He was a nice replacement after Scott and especially after Bryce transferred to Hillcrest. I knew he didn’t do this alone, he was really nice and smart but an absolute idiot when it came to common sense and he was very easily persuaded. I didn’t know if I was more mad at him, or the people who got him into this shit. 

The next day was like any other, all the days are just merging together now. The only good thing was that I finally managed to feel like eating. 

The next day was when things got…..weird. It was sometime in the afternoon when two guards came to my cell to talk to me. They explained how I had been dead for the last two days. I was shocked by the end.

He explained how after the shower fight, I was given the wrong jumpsuit and it actually belonged to a guy who had been murdered later that day. He was given my jumpsuit which had my prisoner number on it. So to everyone, I was dead. They also explained how it had somehow been leaked to the outside world so everyone thought I had been killed in prison. They also said not to worry, as they had called my family to assure them I was okay once the mixup came to light. 

I chuckled to myself after the wave of shock passed. I wondered how many parties had happened the night everyone heard my news. I wondered how much my dad celebrated when he heard the news, and how disappointed he must’ve been when he got the call saying I was alive. But then, my mind went back to him again. The sarcasm inside my head vanished, and was replaced with a feeling of need. A need to tell Winston that I was okay. 

It felt like forever but it was finally time for my phone privileges and I dialled his number.

When I hung up the phone, I felt a sense of relief that he knew. I also didn’t know why he cared so much, I mean he sounded legitimately excited that I was alive on the phone, and he was coming to see me.

The visit went even better than the last, he was excited to see me, and even though I would never admit it, I was excited to see him also, probably even more than he was to see me. I shared with him what had happened, and also how I was being framed for Bryce’s murder. And he said he was going to do what I should’ve done a long time ago, provide my alibi for the night Bryce died. I said I didn’t care anymore what people thought, but secretly I did. I couldn’t even fathom the thought of the whole team knowing I was a fag. I would lose them, I just knew it. But, I had no choice, it was either that or rot in prison. So I chose getting to at least have Winston rather than spend the rest of days in a decrepit cell.


	6. Trial

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Monty goes to trial.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope your enjoying this journey:)

Winston POV

“So, you're telling me you are friends with a rapist AND a suspected murderer?!” Winston's mother couldn’t imagine the thought of her perfect child being friends with such a person. But she doesn’t know him like I do.

“Mom, I know what you think, but just listen. He has a really rough home life, I mean he gets beat up literally everyday by his dad and he doesn’t know how to properly manage his anger. But I know him, like I really know there’s good in his soul. So please, I’m literally begging you to please just take his case. I’ll do whatever you want.”

His mom sighed and pursed her lips. “Listen honey, I know that you always try and see the good in people, but listen, in this world there are some seriously bad people. And I don’t think this Montgomery person is someone you want to associate yourself with.”

“No mom. He is someone I want to associate with, he is a good person. He’s just broken, he just needs someone to really care about him, and I do. Sure, he can lash out at other people, but like I said that's only because he has no idea how to let his anger out properly. When he is with me, he is the gentlest, kindest person ever. And I really care about him, so please just help me with this.” I was getting desperate.

“Fine. I can tell you're not going to let this go and I feel bad for being away so much. And I also can tell you genuinely care about him.”

“Oh my god, thank you so fucking much.”

“Mhm. Okay, well he is not going to have an easy ride with these charges. But you did say you can alibi him for the night Bryce died correct?”

“Yes, I also have dated pictures on my phone that also shows where I took them, along with a couple ones I developed off my camera.” My mind went back to that night and a small smile spread on my face. 

“Okay good, I suggest you start gathering up your evidence and give it to me. This trial is happening unusually fast, it starts next week.” 

“Okay, I’ll go get it all right now.”

I went upstairs to my room to first collect all the photos I had developed from that night. It clearly showed Monty in my room along with pictures of both of us. I gave them all to my mom and also sent her all the ones I had on my phone. She then said she would go meet with Monty in the next couple days to get his side of things. For now, it was time for me to play the waiting game until the trial. 

Monty’s POV

I walked in the visitation room to see a ginger haired woman sitting at the table, she saw me and stood up. 

“Hello Monty, my name is Shirley Williams. I will be representing your case. Please sit, we have a lot to discuss.”

I sat down and she followed.

“So, as of right now your being charged for the sexual assault of Tyler Down, along with the murder of Bryce Walker”

Upon hearing the second part of her sentence I looked up in her eyes and gave her a cold stare. I quietly stated “I didn’t fucking kill him.”

“I know, my son will alibi you for that night, all you have to do is just act natural in the courtroom while he’s testifying. You are 17, so only family members are allowed to come, but, this also means Mr. Down will be there, just so you are aware.” 

My palms started to sweat. I mean, having my father there was enough, but Tyler and his family? That was a whole new problem. “Oh…..Okay” Was all I was able to respond with. 

“So, they will start with the murder charge, you will plead not guilty, then for the sexual assault charge, I suggest you plead guilty. You will be allowed to make a statement before sentencing so I suggest you include how you don’t know how to control your anger and how sorry you are, something along those lines.”

“I am very sorry, I do really regret it.” I said

“I know, as long as you just manage to be honest and show your remorse in your statement I’m confident we can keep you out of jail.”

“I think I deserve jail, I mean don’t you? I’m a fucking monster.”

“No Monty, you're not, and you definitely don’t deserve prison. Yes, you made a huge and terrible mistake, but there were reasons for that. My son told me about your father and shed some light on your home life. It’s obvious that you’ve never learned to properly handle your anger, so you lost it, and I don’t think you deserve jail for losing yourself.” 

I didn’t feel like arguing with her so I just nodded my head in response. The meeting continued with her mostly just gathering details and taking my account on what happened with Tyler. I just told her the exact same thing I told Winston, I got angry, and I lost myself. I let the rage take over. At the end, she thanked me for being honest about everything and told me the trial was already next week. I finally thanked her for taking me on. She smiled, and left.

**

It felt like the day couldn’t come fast enough. But, finally it was here. For the past week, I had to put together, in my head, a kind of template for what I would say when I was allowed to say my statement. I had some sort of idea, but I had also decided I had to try and really pull it from my heart in the moment. I was also terrified of seeing one particular person, my father. Now that I think about it, 3 people actually. My entire family. My sister and mother, who both hadn’t spoken to me since I was arrested and my father who spat on me after our last interaction. I just hoped he would pass out drunk before it started. 

Finally, the guard came to my cell to lead to the courthouse. I walked in near the front, I was in a new suit Shirley got me, a nice change from the colour orange. My heart sank when I first saw Tyler and I guessed his parents, then looked over to see my own family, father included sitting across the room. My heart rose a little however, when I saw Winston near the back, he smiled but I quickly lowered my gaze to the floor as I walked to the defense table. I said a quick hi to Shirley and sat. We all rose at order of the bailiff as the judge entered and ordered us to be seated. After some opening remarks and what seemed like an endless shuffling of papers, she reread the murder charge and asked how I pleaded. Shirley stood up to answer.

“Not Guilty” 

The judge then ordered her to call her witness. She told Winston to come to the stand, and as he walked my father stared at him like a lion stares at its food, ready to pounce at any second. After making it to the stand and being sworn in, his mom wasted no time in getting down to business.

“So Winston, is it true that Montgomery De La Cruz spent the night with you at your house on the night of November 23?”

I looked back and my dad's eyes were wide and I saw him clench his fists at his side. Fuck him, was all I thought. Estela and my mom just had confused looks on their faces, not anger, rather curiosity. 

“Yes, it’s true he did. He came over right after Homecoming, I drove him from the field to my house. I have timestapped pictures along with ones from my phone that show the location of where they were taken of us together.”

Shirley handed the judge the photos and after looking at them handed them back. 

“No further questions” Shirley said while walking back to the table.

The prosecution said they had no questions so Winston started walking to his spot at the back. As he walked past, he smiled at me again and this time I smiled back. This was a grave mistake, because as soon as my father saw he stood up and started yelling curse words in spanish. I just looked back in shock. Estela and my mom tried to get him to sit down, but he started to walk towards Winston. I was about to stand up ready to fight but lucky for both of us a guard grabbed him and escorted him out. My mom and sister stayed in place. Winston stood frozen for a second with a look of terror, but then looked down and hurriedly walked back to his seat.

I swear to god. If that fucker ever lays a hand on him I will kill him with no hesitation. 

After the brief kerfuffle, the judge moved on.

“And for the second charge, sexual assault in the first degree, how does the defendant plead?”

Once again, Shirley stood up.

“Guilty, your honour”

The judge then asked me if I wanted to deliver a statement to which I obliged. I stood up and moved to the center of the room, my palms were sweating and my hands were trembling. 

I started in a shaky voice. “All my life, I have never been taught how to properly handle my emotions. Growing up with an abusive, homophobic father who had a clear vision of what a man was supposed to be never made it easy. The day I raped Tyler” I had to take a second after the last sentence. “Was the day I completely lost myself in my rage. I will never be able to explain why I did it, I am a very fucked up person. All I can say is how sorry I am. Tyler, I ruined your life, and I will never be able to take that back. No matter how many times I say sorry it will never be enough, and I know that. All I can say, is how much I wish that day had gone different, and how fucking sorry I am. I truly want to change, I want to become a better person. I never want to go back to the person I was that day” By the end, I had tears streaming down my face. I looked and saw my mom holding Estela in her lap as she was sobbing. 

I sat down and sighed.

Shirley said “Monty, that was really good” and she smiled. 

I just smiled back in response. 

“Mr. Down, if you would like to make a statement, you may do so now.”

My stomach did flips as Tyler made his way to the same spot I was in just moments before.

He cleared his throat and then began. “Monty, for the longest time after what happened, I wanted you dead. I thought you deserved nothing more than to die painfully and slowly, that's how much I hated you. But then, I heard the news about your death, and I was, just so sad. I mean, I was the reason that you were gone, and I cried for you. I realized that you didn’t deserve death. Yes, you did ruin my life, but only temporarily. I learned how strong I was after overcoming all the limitations you put in my place. I honestly don’t think you deserve any more time in jail, I think you deserve help and the opportunity to change. Thank you.” 

I was speechless. My jaw was on the floor. I couldn’t believe how nice he was. He had every opportunity to tell them about the monster I really was and he didn’t. 

The judge determined her verdict quite quickly.

“Montgomery De La Cruz, I hereby find you guilty of sexual assault in the first degree. I am sentencing you to 2 months probation and court mandated therapy sessions.”

I was ecstatic. I was never going to have to go back to jail. And this meant I could finally get back to all my friends, and Winston. 

I got up and Shirley hugged me. I gave her a huge thank you. Then, I started making my way back to my sister and mom. Estela ran and gave me a tight squeeze. My mom eventually followed, and apologized for my father's behaviour. They said he was just gonna have to adjust. 

“Wait, so like, you guys don’t care that I’m…..” I trailed off, I wasn’t ready to say the word out loud yet.

Estela answered “Monty, we don’t care who you love, as long as you're happy.” 

I smiled and then made my way with them out to the courtroom lobby. I spotted Winston and asked them to give me a minute. They tell me their going to wait in the car.

I sit down next to Winston, he starts to lean for a kiss but I just can’t. I quickly turn it into a hug. When I pull away, the hurt in his eyes, it tears me apart. He quickly hides it though.

“I have to go right now, but can you hangout later?” I ask

He smiles genuinely this time “Sure, I’d like that”

I stand up and say goodbye to him.

The whole drive home, Estela bombards me with questions about Winston.

“So is he your boyfriend?” 

“No Stela”

“When can I meet him?”

“I don’t know”

“How’d you meet?”

“At a party”

She goes on and on before we finally get home. Luckily dad has taken off again. Probably staying at some hotel for a couple nights like he always does when he gets sick of the family.

I walk in, and I jump in shock.

Diego, Luke, and Scott are standing in my kitchen with a huge banner that reads “Welcome Home Monty” They yelled surprise as I walked in.

My mom and Estela smile and laugh as they come in behind me, Estela explains she had texted them as soon as she heard the verdict and they immediately made a banner and wanted to surprise me. 

The three of them engulf me in a bear hug. They go on to say how much they missed me and how devastated they were when I “died” and how they literally jumped for joy when I was revealed to be alive. After talking for a while, I decided it was time for me to start being honest with them. My father already knew, and I hated sneaking around. I didn’t know how they were going to react, but I just said fuck it in my head.

“Um, so guys…” I trailed off and they stared at me blankly. They were in the midst of a conversation about a recent football game, and now the atmosphere was very serious.  
“There is something I need to tell you. I-I…” I didn’t know how to avoid saying the dreaded “G” word. 

“Monty, what is it?” Diego said with a concerned tone and look.

“I like...I like guys, listen what I’m trying to say is, well fuck it, I’m gay, and I kinda think I have a thing with a guy.”

Scott answered “Okay, and?”

“And what?” I asked

“Oh...that's it? I mean I was expecting something huge with the way you were acting.” He responded with.

Diego then chimed in “Same, I mean Monty, we love you, we don’t care who you like.”

Luke nodded in agreement.

Scott turned back to Diego and in the blink of an eye they were right back in their football conversation.

They weren't acting like I just told them I like guys. That I didn’t just also tell them I have a thing with a guy. I started to think, maybe being gay isn’t such a bad thing.


	7. Charlie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Monty and the others confront Charlie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kind of a short one, nothing too exciting because I have a lot to put into the next one, so get ready for that:)

After listening to them talk endlessly about football. My mind shifted to a more important issue. Charlie. I decided to test the waters to see if they know what he did so I subtly asked:

“Did you guys invite Charlie?”

Scotty then said “I texted him but he said he had some family shit.”

I scoffed angrily and they all gave me a confused look.

Luke then said “If you really wanna see him I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if you stopped by..”

I cut him off angrily saying “I don’t wanna fucking see him. He ratted me out to the cops, told them I actually wasn’t at his house after homecoming and I’m pretty confident he planted evidence in my locker.”

All 3 of them had stunned looks on their faces.   
“Why the fuck would he do that? I mean he’s your friend, he’s our friend. Fucking prick.” Diego stated. 

The other two hummed and nodded in agreement, still in shock. 

“How did it even get leaked that I was dead?” I had never even thought about this.

Luke explained the events of the morning that I supposedly died:

“Well, remember Tim Poszi? The steroid dealer?” I nodded and he continued “He was in the county lockup as well, in there for selling illegal shit at the gym. He was in there when that guy died but everyone thought it was you. He got out that morning right after he heard, he told me, I told a couple people and it spread like wildfire. A lot of people were devastated.”

I chuckled “Ya right, people were pry getting ready to dance on my grave,”

This angered Scott. “Monty, don’t fucking say that. We all missed you like crazy. A lot of people did. And even Charlie, I mean he was crying pretty bad when he heard.” 

“I know who framed me, at least partly. The guy I have a thing with, Winston, found out it was Ani and her little freak show. Somehow, they must’ve convinced Charlie to get involved.” When I thought about it, I didn’t really blame them for targeting Charlie. I mean, he wasn’t exactly a hard person to convince. He literally had the mind of a two year old, like put something shiny in front of him and he’ll be in a trance. 

“We need to talk to him. I mean he must’ve realized he fucked up when he found out you're alive. Right?” Diego said. 

I shrugged. I didn’t know what to think and who to trust anymore. I was actually surprised I wasn’t on my way to beat him up. Anyone else, and they’d already be in a coma. But not Charlie, even though he set me up. Everyone knows I have a soft spot for him, probably because he’s too nice and soft to lay a finger on.

“I don’t know, I mean, should we confront him?” I asked. 

They all seemed to agree, so it was settled. We would confront him. All of us. And find out why the fuck he would turn his back and me and the rest of the guys so quickly. We decided that we would go to his house, and I guess just talk to him. I kept trying to tell myself he must’ve had a reasonable explanation, like they blackmailed him or something. 

Scotty drove us all over. We knew his parents were at work and we knew he was there because his car was in the driveway. We didn’t really have a plan of what to say or anything. We kinda just stood on his doorstep in a half circle waiting for him to answer. When he opened, he seemed cheery to see all of the guys, but his eyes landed on me. It looked like he had seen a ghost. He went pale and his hands trembled. We still hadn’t said anything. I wasn’t expecting what he did next. His lip started quivering and his eyes started to water and before I knew it he wrapped his arms around me and started sobbing into my shoulder. 

Charlie was a football player, but man did that boy have emotions. I’ll never forget the day after his dog died. It had died the night before, I had picked him up for school since I felt bad. When he got in the car his eyes were red from crying. I said “Sorry about your dog bro” and he went into a meltdown. He sobbed the entire way to school. It was so bad I skipped first with him to just help him calm down by taking him out for breakfast. He was also on the opposite end of the emotions spectrum. He was also always the most happy, cheery, and nicest person I had ever met.

In between sobbing into my shoulder. He was trying to make sentences.

“I-I’m…..sorry….Monty”

My fists were clenched at my side. I was still fucking mad at him. But slowly, I started to relax. It took a few minutes, but the anger slowly started to dissipate as I realized he seemed genuinely upset and sorry. Like I said, anyone else would be begging for their life by this point, but not Charlie. Finally, I brought my arms up and hugged him back for a couple minutes before he pulled away and managed to collect himself. 

We all followed him back inside and sat in his living room.

After sitting in silence I decided to speak.

“Why the fuck did you do it Charlie?” I asked

He sighed, then began to answer. “The afternoon when you supposedly died, I was sitting in the football classroom crying. Luke had just told me and I needed some alone time. Then, Justin foley came in.” 

Of course Foley was involved. I thought to myself. I just knew Jessica made him do something. 

“He comforted me for a few minutes, then he told me there was something I needed to do. He said that the cops were closing in on Clay, that he was innocent and he was gonna go to prison for a crime he didn’t commit. He said that they needed to get attention away from him, just for some time until they could figure out who actually killed Bryce. Justin said all I had to do was put a tape in your locker and tell the cops you weren’t with me.”

I could feel myself getting angry again. I thought I had gotten over it but I hadn’t. He had sold me out in 2 seconds for fucking Clay Jensen. Charlie continued:

“I don’t even know why I did it. It was so fucking stupid. I honestly thought Justin had good intentions. After the whole Tyler thing, I just….I just maybe thought you weren’t as good as a person as I thought. But trust me, I realized right after how wrong I was. Monty please don’t be mad at me. We had such a good friendship and I fucked up, but is there any way you can forgive me?”

Charlie gave me the puppy dog eyes and he knew I couldn’t say no to those.

“Yeah. I mean like whatever.” I said. 

Charlie squealed in excitement. 

I gave him a half smile. 

“So, what are we gonna do about the rest of those assholes?” Luke asked.

Everyone turned to me like I was suddenly making all the decisions.

“Well, since Monty was found not guilty, they're gonna have to reopen the case.” Scotty luckily filled the silence. 

“They tried to frame you Monty, we need to go to the police. Charlie can even tell them how Foley manipulated him to frame you.” Diego said to which Charlie nodded in agreement.

“Who the fuck is gonna believe some guy who is on probation for rape? I mean we don’t even have any proof. I mean I want to bash all their heads in but right now, I just wanna lay low and catch up on life.” I said

Everyone looked as though they understood. I was on probation and didn’t wanna risk fucking it up and ending up back in my cell.

I continued: “Besides, now the cops know I didn’t kill Bryce, they’re gonna have to reopen the case and find the killer. It’s only a matter of time.” Since when was I the optimistic one, I thought to myself. 

I then suddenly remembered the promise I made to Winston, to hangout with him. I looked at my phone and saw it was already 6 PM. I asked Scott to drive me home, saying my mom wanted me home, even though I came out to them, minus Charlie, it still felt weird to say I was going to hangout with him.

As soon as I felt I had waited long enough, I texted him.

M: Hey, can I come over?

He replied almost instantly.

W: Doors open:)

I smiled to myself and started my car. On the drive there, I remembered what I had done to him earlier. I had dodged his kiss, and it visibly hurt him. It hurt me too, seeing his reaction. I was gonna apologize as soon as I got there I decided.

I knocked on the door and I could hear him practically sprinting to open it. He opened it with a large smile.

“Hey” I said nervously, unsure if he was still mad at me or not. 

“Come in” He said. 

I went in, and he tried leading me upstairs, but I instead led us to sit on the couch. I was nervous. I hated apologizing to people. Usually I was just mean and made sure the person understood it was their fault, when usually it was actually mine.

Winston looked nervous as he sat down next to me. 

“We need to talk” I started

“O-oh okay” He replied with, visibly confused and scared.

“Earlier, you tried to kiss me at the courthouse, and I dodged it. I just wanted to ya know…” I trailed off, like I said, I’m not good at apologies. 

“You wanted to say?” He said almost sarcastically. He was enjoying getting me to say sorry.

I rolled my eyes then said “That I’m sorry”

“Apology accepted” And he gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. 

Well now that was settled. It was time to get on with the night.

We went up to his room and I kissed him as soon as we walked in.

Soon, we found ourselves on just our underwear on the bed. God, he is so fucking cute I thought to myself.

“Where's the lube I asked?” And he stated it was in the top drawer.

I grabbed the bottle and squeezed a generous amount into my hand. I started with one finger. In and out nice and gentle. And when I felt he was ready, I inserted a second, soon a third, just to make sure he was nice and ready. Soon he was begging for it.

He was now all on fours facing the headboard.

“Monty, pleaseeeee, I just want to feel you in me” He whined.

And who was I to deny him that?

So, I slowly inserted myself into him, his body slightly twitched in response but he let out a huge moan and his face said it all. I began thrusting slowly and once I felt he could handle it I was going much faster. It had been awhile since we had done anything so I knew I wouldn’t last. I eventually felt myself reaching the breaking point, and I let loose inside him. I quickly removed myself from him, now it was my turn to take care of him.

I flipped him onto his back, and kissed my way down his chest and stomach to his hardness. It was already dripping pre cum at insane amounts. I had never sucked a guys dick before, so I had no idea how, but I guess there’s a first time for everything. I slowly licked my way around the tip and shaft before taking some of it in my mouth. Eventually I managed to take more and we worked out a rhythm. Apparently he hadn’t done much either cause soon he was saying :  
“Monty….I’m...I’m gonna..” And with that he let loose. After swallowing him down, I kissed him on the lips, and fell beside him.

“Monty, there’s something I need to tell you” He said

Uh oh I thought to myself.

“I….I got expelled from Hillcrest”

I was shocked. When I didn’t respond he kept going.

“Brian Chiu, the kid who wrote my SAT got caught hacking the school computers and ratted me and a bunch of others out to save himself.”

“Shit, Winston I’m so sorry” I said

“It actually feels nice, not having that weight on me. And now I don’t have to worry about pretending to be happy about going to Princeton” He chuckled at his own last sentence. “But Monty, that's not all. This happened last week, I didn’t tell you because I didn’t know how you’d react but, the only school that would take me with that record and at this time was Liberty.”

I didn’t know if I should be angry or excited. Having him at school with me at first seemed horrible, but then I remembered I already told a couple guys and they didn’t care, so maybe this was a good thing.

“Well, actually, I’m happy you're coming.” I said to his surprise.

Still surprised, he said “Wait, really?”

“Yeah I mean, I came out to some friends today and they didn’t care, and my dad knows, so I really don’t care anymore.”

He had a huge grin on his face as he asked “Monty, will you be my boyfriend?”

That sounded so strange, boyfriend, but before I had a chance to think I found myself saying “Yes”

He could barely contain his excitement. After that, we decided to get some sleep, I decided to stay over. Tomorrow was my first day back, and it was his first day at Liberty. I was beyond nervous, but I knew it would be better with him by my side.


	8. Welcome Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First day for both of them comes with many surprises:)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you like this one! Thanks again for all the positive feedback!

We woke up early. We both had to get ready for our first day. I woke a grumpy Winston up and pretty much had to force him to go get in the shower. As I layed in bed while he got ready, I started to lose the confidence I had from the previous night. I mean, I loved him and was excited for him to be at the same school, but I was getting cold feet about being so open with everyone suddenly. I decided I had to set some boundaries at school. 

When he came out of the shower in his towel, I explained how I wasn’t ready for the whole world to know about me just yet. That while we were at school, for now, we would just act like friends. He seemed a little disappointed, but understood I think. 

I quickly got ready, and we were off. I offered to drive. That was within the boundary, I mean friends give each other rides all the time. We had to leave early of course because Winston, being the rich white boy he is, needed to stop at Starbucks. His drink order alone was so complicated I made him lean over and order it himself at the drive thru. 

20 minutes later, filled with me making fun of him for his ridiculous order, I pulled into the parking lot. Holy shit, I couldn’t decide what day I was more nervous, when I found out I was going to jail or today, coming back to school from it, with a new sexuality in tow. I immediately called Scott, I knew he was driving Charlie that morning and I’d rather go in with a group.

He agreed to meet me at my car, a couple minutes later, I saw both of them heading in my direction. When I felt they were close enough, I got out and Winston did the same. They smiled and then said hi to me, then they noticed the other guy who just got out of my car. They’re eyes darted between us, before I remembered I hadn’t introduced them. 

“Oh right, Scott and Charlie, meet Winston, my boyfriend” It still felt so fucking weird calling him that.

“Boyfriend? What??” Charlie exclaimed.

Scott was quick to react, he gave Charlie a good punch on the shoulder and it seemed to snap him back.

“Right, sorry Monty, I’m just surprised and didn’t know” He said right after.

I just chuckled and said “Only a few people know, so keep it quiet St. George.”

Charlie nodded and both him and Scott shook his hand and seemed happy to meet him. 

The moment I was dreading was now here, we were about to walk inside. As we walked in, I kept my head down and walked forward, but I still heard it. All around me, I heard the whispers, and felt the side glances, people were trying to hide it but they were doing a really shitty job.

I had to keep myself from chuckling at Winstons outfit. He looked so out of place. He wore dark tight jeans, some fancy dress like shoes, a long grey coat, black shirt, and a scarf. He looked like he belonged in Vogue, not Liberty. 

I went to my locker, and my entourage of Scott, Charlie and Winston formed a small circle around me to try and shield me from everyone. Luckily I came back on the right day, our first two periods were cancelled for an assembly. I heard it was Jessica Davis apologizing for ruining our homecoming game when she and that club of her’s marched onto the field and caused a big fight to break out. 

“Hey Winston, do you mind if we steal Monty away for a few minutes before the assembly?” Scott asked

Winston nodded and said he would just see me in there.  
Scott and Charlie started leading somewhere, saying they had a surprise for me.

I was nervous and didn’t know what to expect as they led me through the locker room doors, but suddenly I was met with a barrage of cheering and applause. Soon followed by the whole football team chanting “Mon-ty, Mon-ty” in unison. I smiled and thanked them. Then, Kerba came out to welcome me back.

“Monty, I can’t lie, I’m disappointed in you. You fucked up. But, you’ve paid the price, and I would like to welcome you back to your family of tigers.” More cheering from the crowd came when Kerba finished. It was a short, but powerful welcome, usual Coach K. style. 

After saying hi to some of the guys, it was time for the assembly. Me, Scott and Charlie and I spotted Winston walking in as well. After reuniting with him the three of us found a seat in the middle row of bleachers near the end of the gym. Once everyone was in, Bolan started talking. Hillcrest was here too, since apparently they deserved an apology, even though they started the fucking fight.

Bolan was rambling about how sorry he was and I spaced out, but I started listening intently during one sentence.

“Also, I would like to take a moment to welcome back Montgomery De La Cruz, he was dearly missed by us and we are glad to have him back.” He said

This guy must’ve been higher than the moon. I mean, I was in his office everyday, usually for fights or because I was still failing my classes. Whatever I thought, maybe they had to say that when the rapist kid died and came back to life. Jessica started her speech right after, and I can’t lie, it actually was a good speech. After, some kids started standing up and saying how they were sexual assault survivors. But then, Tyler stood up. I felt like vomiting. I felt so fucking guilty. Scott and Charlie noticed and Scott asked if I was okay, I just nodded. Winston grabbed my hand. He broke the rule, but at this moment I wasn’t worried at all. Maybe that explains why I did what I did next. Maybe also because I was tired of being thought of as the big bad wolf of Liberty High. I wasn’t even thinking, my body was working on impulse as I stood up and I didn’t even process the words leaving my mouth.

“My name is Monty De La Cruz, and I’m a survivor.” I heard a truckload of gasps throughout the audience. But what happened next surprised me even more, I heard from beside me:

“My name is Winston Williams, and I’m a survivor.”

I hadn’t even noticed that he had stood up. But I was stunned. My first reaction was to kill the motherfucker that had done something to him. I glanced at him, and he gave me a small smile.

I turned my attention back to the assembly, Foley stood up next. That didn’t surprise me as we both came from shitty homes. A few more kids stood up before there was an applause, and it was over. 

It was lunchtime now, I was sitting outside with Scott, Charlie and Winston at a picnic table. 

Estela was texting me non-stop asking if I wanted to talk and if I was okay. I didn’t bother replying, I wasn’t ready to tell her about that.

Diego joined us. After meeting Winston, he said how proud he was of both of us for standing, that it took a lot of courage. Scott and Charlie exclaimed how they agreed. I just shrugged them off but Winston gave them a big thank you. 

I still couldn’t believe I had just exposed my darkest secret to the whole school. I couldn’t decide if it was a mistake or not, I don’t even know why I did it. 

“Hey man, just so you know I’m always here if you want to talk.” Diego said to me.

I just said thanks and explained how I kinda just wanted to forget what happened to me. 

Lunch went on listening to the three stooges asking Winston endless questions about Hillcrest and of course their football team. Finally the bell rang, but I wasn’t feeling up for class after that assembly. Once the others left, I turned to Winston.

“Wanna just skip? I don’t feel like going after all that shit.”

He was quick to agree. He was a goodie goodie, hated to break rules, but wasn’t ready to face class after that either.

We went back to his house. His parents were at work of course. I wasn’t interested in sex right now though. We sat on his bed in silence for a few minutes before I broke it.

“Do you wanna maybe like, I don’t know, tell me what happened?” I asked him. He looked at me then brought his knees to his chest in a fetal position and then started speaking. 

“When I was 9, I had this cousin who used to babysit me, Ben, he was 18.”

I could feel my face getting hot. I clenched my fists at my side. 

“He would…..he would make me play these strange games with him, they always involved me somehow taking my clothes off.”

I thought I was gonna explode. I was about to ask where he lived because I was gonna axe murder him. But I stopped myself for now. 

“Then, he started touching me” His voice was trembling at this point. 

It took everything in me not to punch something.

“But luckily, there was one night, my parents came home early, and walked in on him doing something to me.” Winston buried his face in his knees tightening the fetal position he was in. 

He looked up and saw my anger. 

“Monty, hey, calm down, it’s okay. He went to jail because my parents caught him. He’s not going to hurt me anymore.”

I unclenched my fists as I realized I was being a little selfish, I should be caring for him, not plotting his cousins murder. 

I opened my arms and he buried his face in my chest. We stayed like this for a minute, embraced, but then he pulled away, looked me in my eyes and said:

“Now, your turn.”

I felt my heart sink. While I was busy being mad at his fucking cousin, I had forgotten that I had openly said I was sexually assaulted to the entire school. Fuck me. Was that ever a mistake. I mean, I had never told anyone, not even Estela.

I sighed, and decided I wanted to tell him. I started:

“When I was 12, I was at the playground with one of my friends, Dylan. He was my best friend for most of my childhood, until this day. We were just playing, having fun. At one point, he took my hand to lead me somewhere. My dad was driving by, and saw him do it. It was the maddest I’ve ever seen him. He pulled over, jumped out of his car while yelling homophobic slurs and curse words in spanish. He grabbed me and dragged me while I cried back to his car, threw me in, and took me back home. On the way back he told me how he was gonna teach me a lesson and I was never to see Dylan again. When we got home, no one else was there.”

I could see the sympathy and fear in Winston's eyes growing and it was making me more and more nervous.

“He…..H-he told me that only faggots held hands and that it wasn’t right to. He dragged me into his bedroom. And then he….he.” I didn’t think I could finish.  
Winston grabbed my hand, and just like in the assembly, I felt stronger.

“H-he, he did…..what I did to Tyler.” I buried my face in my hands. I didn’t even want to see Winston’s face.

“Monty….jesus I am..”

I stopped him. “Don’t say your sorry”

I didn’t want sympathy. I don’t deserve it.

“Do you, maybe, want to tell the police? Or someone?”

I just shook my head. I don’t know why, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.

I laid down and he laid with his head on my chest. All this sadness made us tired, and before we knew it we were sleeping. 

I woke up to my phone ringing, I didn’t even check who called, I just hit answer.

“Hello?” I said sleepily.

“Monty, where the fuck are you?” It was my sister's voice. She sounded desperate, I was now fully awake.

“At Winston’s. What’s wrong?” Winston was now awake beside me with a concerned look.

“It’s dad” She said. 

“Estela, what the fuck did he do to you?” I was already planning where I was gonna bury his body.

“NO! Nothing, it’s actually good news. Monty, he’s gone for good.”

“What do you mean?”

“He moved out, I came home from school and he said he was done with this family, he grabbed a suitcase and left.”

I had no words. After 17 years, all it took to drive him out was his son being gay.

“How’s mom?” I asked.

“She actually is fine. She almost seems relieved.” Estela said.

“Good, I’ll be home soon.” I said before hanging up.

Winston asked me what happened.

“My fucking father finally left.”

“Oh shit, are you okay?”

I smiled “Trust me, I am very okay”

He smiled and responded with “Oh, good”

I decided I should take advantage of that piece of shit being gone.

“Do you want to hangout at my house tonight?” I asked

He looked shocked, then nodded excitedly.

Okay then, it was settled. Estela and my mom were going to meet him.


	9. Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of Monty's father leaving, also more interactions with Estela.

I drove us back to my house. When we got there, I didn’t really know what to do. I had never actually had a friend, let alone boyfriend over. We just sat awkwardly in the car for a second. Then, when I felt I had enough confidence, I asked if he wanted to go inside, he nodded and the grin on his face was so big he looked like a madman. I was growing less nervous as I kept reminding myself that my dad was gone and my sister and mom didn’t give a shit.

I had already texted Estela that I was bringing Winston home. She couldn’t stop texting back how excited she was to meet him, and that mom was already stressing about what to make for dinner for all of us.

We walked in and Estela was already waiting by the front door. She managed to contain her excitement as she walked up and hugged Winston and told him how great it was to meet him. My mother, Rose, was next, repeating the exact same motions as Estela. 

“Winston, I hope you like Chinese, we decided to get take out.” My mom asked.

“Yeah, that sounds great, thank you so much!” He replied while smiling. 

I still couldn’t process how someone so polite, and well mannered would want to be with someone like me.

I told Estela and my mom we were going to my room, I managed to drag him away before they started asking endless questions about his life. 

When we got to my room, I was once again clueless on what to do. I just laid on the bed, and luckily he joined me.

“So, what’d you think of them?” I asked, meaning my family.

“I loved them.” He said.

I smiled in response. For most families, a father leaving would be devastating, but my family for the first time ever seemed happy. My father leaving had lifted a huge weight off our shoulders. We no longer had to dread coming home to the drunken man ready to punch my lights out or boss my mother around. 

The whole dad leaving thing had distracted Estela from the assembly earlier, for now at least. I knew that soon, I would have to open up to her about that. Fuck, that was not gonna be fun. But whatever, I was just gonna focus on spending time with Winston for now.

We honestly couldn’t have come back at a better time, tomorrow was the last day before Christmas break, that meant two weeks, no school, and this time, no father to spend everyday with wondering where he was gonna put my next bruise. 

We only managed to hangout in my room for about 20 minutes, my mom called us down for dinner. It was the first family dinner without dad, and honestly, I could tell I was gonna get used to this fast. My mom took time to ask us about our days, including Winston, she asked how his adjustment to the new school was, and how it was for me to come back. Luckily, she was at work when we skipped so she had missed the call from the school, and as far as I know Estela hadn’t talked at all about the assembly with her. We finished dinner, and after cleaning up, Winston thanked my mom and told us his parents had said they wanted him to come home. After saying his goodbyes to my mother and sister, I left with him to drive him home.

“Hey, thanks for having me Monty. I had a great time.” He said while I was driving.

“Thanks for coming.” I said.

The rest of the car ride was silent, we didn’t need to talk. We both had long days and were tired. Before I knew it, I was pulling into his driveway. 

“See you tomorrow?” He asked hopefully.

“Yea.” I said.

He smiled and leaned in, I leaned in as well and kissed him quickly before he left my car and walked toward his door. When he did, he looked back, waved, and then walked inside.

The car ride home, I just put on some music, and started to think if I was going to tell Estela the truth, or be my usual dick self like I was around my friends and the team and say I did it as some sick joke. I decided, if I wanted to really change who I was as a person, I would need to be open with her. 

I pulled into my own driveway, I stared at my house for a minute. My house was probably the size of Winston’s master bathroom I thought. This made me chuckle lightly. I walked inside, my mom said hello, she was sitting in the living room watching tv. I walked up to my room, and sure enough, before I could reach the door, Estela threw hers open, grabbed my arm and dragged me inside. I didn’t try to resist, and besides, she was way stronger than she looked. She sat me on her bed while she sat at her desk and stared into my soul.

“What the fuck Monty? Why’d you stand at that assembly today?” She started.

“I don’t know. Thought it would be funny.” I replied with. I had lost the bravado I had in the car and was not sure if Estela should know. 

“We both know that’s a fucking lie. Now start talking.” She snapped at me.

“Ughhhh” I rolled my eyes while saying this.

“Monty. Now!” Wow, she was getting really aggressive tonight.

“Fine, when I was little, dad said me holding hands with a guy at the park. He got mad, like really fucking mad, and he taught me a lesson.” I mumbled.

Estela’s expression went from angry, to confused, to now sad and concerned.

“What lesson?” She asked much more calmly now. 

“He…….took a broomstick and…” I couldn’t finish. I looked down to face the floor.

She stood up from her chair, and sat beside me. She turned my head to look at her. I didn’t want to cry in front of her but I could feel it coming. She noticed and lowered my head so it was resting in her lap. I sobbed. I finally realized just how fucked up it was what my father did to me. She rubbed circles on my back while telling me it was going to be okay. She then asked:

“Monty, I think you should talk to the police. Not just about the assault, but the abuse and everything.”

“I-I’m not ready.” I wasn’t ready to look a cop in the eyes, a complete stranger and recount everything he did to me. I was barely able to tell my classmates I was a survivor. And if there was a trial, I just couldn’t do it.

“Hey, you want to get out of here?” She asked.

I nodded my head as best as I could while still resting my head in her lap. I managed to stop the tears and was feeling good to have that off my chest. And hanging out with my sister sounded nice, we had barely hung out since I got out of jail and even before that we wouldn’t see each other much. She wanted to get milkshakes, so we were planning on going to a small diner on the edge of town. After saying bye to our mom we were off. I had to drive since she didn’t yet have her license. It was about 15 minutes and we just listened to music the whole time. 

It was pretty dead inside when we got there, we sat in a booth near the back. We hadn’t really had some alone time since everything, so this meant a lot. And I had some big questions to ask. 

The waitress came to take our order first.

“I’ll have a strawberry milkshake please.” Estela said, then the waitress turned to me.

“Chocolate please.” I asked.

When she left, I cleared my throat and asked my first question of the evening:

“Stela, how did you find out about me being arrested and why and shit?”

She sighed, then spoke “I was at a friends house that night, I guess the cops had called mom, she called me and said I needed to come home right away. When I got home, she sat me down and told me everything. How you had been arrested, and the reason why.”

“I am, so sorry, for doing what I did. Can...how can you even look at me the same? Can you ever forgive me?” She gave a sympathetic smile when I said this.

“Monty, don’t beat yourself up. You fucked up. But, I know that's not what was really in your heart. I know that dad was the real criminal here. That you never were taught how to deal with your shit properly. I saw it firsthand. What I’m trying to say is my opinion of you never changed. You're my brother and I love you.”

I raised my eyebrows in surprise. I wasn’t just expecting her to pour her heart out like that to me, let alone even say that she still loves me. The waitress brought our milkshakes, and after a few minutes of just sipping, I asked my next question.

“How did you hear about my death?”

Estela looked taken aback by this question. Her face changed to a sad look, likely remembering the moment she heard her brother was dead.

“I was pulled out of class at school. I was taken to the principal's office. I thought I was in trouble but when I got there, Sheriff Diaz was there and he told me to sit down. He said that he had some terrible news. He told me that there was no easy way to say this, that you had died, been murdered in prison earlier that morning. I was in shock. I broke down there in the office. After a few minutes when I managed to collect myself, he drove me home where mom was waiting. She broke down when she saw me. Dad was sitting alone in his room. I went to my room and cried my eyes out. My pillow was soaked by the time I was done. Then, I looked across the hall, at your room and I just broke down even more. Realizing that you would never sleep in that bed again, that you would never be there to talk to me when I needed you, that you had faced your biggest fear that day, dying alone, and most of all that I would never see you again.”

I sat there with my mouth hanging open. I didn’t think that my death would impact them so hard. I mean, sure they were my family, but I died as a rapist and murderer in jail. No one misses those guys. This actually hit me hard. Knowing that people actually cared.

“How did the school react?” I asked.

“Well, I didn’t go the next day, but Scott came over that night to check in on me and he filled me in. He told me that he was in study hall when he heard. It was the day Diaz told me but a couple hours after I had left. Luke came in and told him they needed to go talk, he brought Scott to the locker room where Charlie and Diego were already waiting. Apparently Luke could barely get any words out but they eventually realized he was saying you had been killed that morning. He told me he was in complete disbelief, Charlie and Diego were sobbing and so was Luke. They all decided to skip the rest of the day and they went to Luke’s and he told me they were telling each other funny stories and other memories about you to try and lift their spirits.”

She gave me a minute to process everything. It was a lot to take in.

“Scott told me the next day is when they made the official announcement at school. Bolan went on the intercom and announced that you had passed away the previous day. He cancelled all classes for the rest of the day and grievance counsellors were brought in. When Scott came over, he was an absolute mess. Even more than me I think. He had barely slept, his eyes were red from crying and he had dark bags under them.”

Jeez, I thought. Maybe I never really lost Scotty, or Diego, or Charlie and Luke.

“The next day is when the announcement came about you being alive. But, then later that night, the story started circulating that you killed Bryce.”

“I didn’t kill him. I was fucking framed.” I said

“I know Monty, and I think we need to track down who really killed him.” She replied. 

“I know it was Ani and her little circus who framed me, it’s obvious one of them killed Bryce, I just don’t know who yet.” 

“Okay well, we have work to do.” She said and I smiled.

“Charlie was involved, he said Foley told him it was just to divert attention away from Clay because he was innocent, but there has to be more to the story.”

She nodded. 

I continued “We can’t do this alone, tomorrow I’ll tell Winston, Diego, Scotty, Charlie and Luke what we’re doing and I know they’ll be in to help us.”

I remembered how I said I wanted to lay low before, but I was laying low, being discreet about hunting down a killer was easy. 

We payed the waitress and left for home. After saying goodnight, I went to my room. I checked my phone and I had a text from Winston.

W: “Miss you:)” 

M: “You too, can’t wait to see you tomorrow.”

I smiled, before plugging my phone in and heading to bed. It was the first night without my father, and it was the best sleep I’ve ever had.

The next morning I woke up excited. It was the last day before Christmas break which pretty much meant just a day of movies since the teachers were too lazy to teach this close to a break. I had my first, and last class with Winston so I knew which ones to look forward to.

Me and Estela got to school with 10 minutes to spare and she immediately took off with her friends. I headed inside and immediately saw Scott. I walked over and we started to walk to our first class. I walked in and to my luck Winston was sitting at the back with two empty seats by him. Me and Scott took both, Scott in front of him, and me beside. After a quick hey, the lesson started.

I hated my next class. History. I just thought it was the most pointless and boring class ever invented. Winston said he would walk me there and Scotty said he would see us at lunch.

“So, what are your big winter break plans?” He asked.

I chuckled. “Sitting home and doing nothing. You?”

“Same here. And my parents are gone for the first week, sooo?” I saw his eyebrows raise and a smile grow as he said this.

I felt butterflies. This was gonna be a good winter break. Looked like it started with a week long sleepover at Winston’s. 

“Sounds good.” I said and his smile only got bigger.

History seemed to go extra long today. But that was probably only because I was glancing at the clock every second. When lunch finally came I headed straight for our usual spot, the picnic table outside.

When I got there, Scott, Diego and Winston were already sitting. Charlie joined us a couple minutes later, along with Luke. I decided to tell them what I was thinking. 

“Guys, listen.” I said. They all stopped talking and looked at me.

“I want to find out who really killed Bryce. I mean those fuckers better not think they can frame me and get away with it. He deserves justice.” I said.

They all said yeah and how they agreed. We all decided to meet at Diego’s tomorrow, Saturday, to start to figure shit out. 

My next two classes went uneventfully. It seemed like people had accepted I wasn’t dead and the stares had stopped, luckily no one had asked questions about the assembly either. During my last class, Winston asked to hangout afterschool at his house, and of course I said yes. I just told him I wanted to run home first and grab some stuff since I knew I would be staying overnight. He just chuckled and said he couldn’t wait. The last two days had actually gone better than expected. I hadn’t had any run-ins with Ani and her entourage, and luckily no awkward moments seeing Tyler. Finally the last bell went, and it was here. 2 weeks with no worries. After promising Winston I would be over quick, he let me go to my car and drive home to get my stuff.


	10. Winter Break

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Winter break begins with some surprises.

“Hey Monty” Winston said while opening the door. God I loved the way he said my name. He dropped the “t” in it so it always sounded kinda funny. I replied with a “Hey” and he let me come inside. 

“Do you want to maybe….order some food?” He asked.

I nodded in response since I was starving. We decided on pizza. 

After eating, we went up to his room. His parents were gone yet again, I didn’t even pay attention when he told me as it was a new country every week.

After sitting and talking on his bed for a few minutes, he made it clear he wasn’t interested in talking anymore. He leaned in and kissed me softly. Sucking for an extra second on my bottom lip. And with that, the clothes were off. It looked like a tornado had hit his room. We took them off and flung our pieces of clothing in every direction. And soon our lips were inseparable as we laid back down on the bed. Our boxers were the only thing left on us and surely those would be gone soon. After a minute of making out, he assumed his usual position of facing the headboard on all fours, and I took up my spot behind him. And within seconds, I felt the greatest feeling of my life as I exited and entered him.

“Holy Fuck” I shouted as I exploded in the condom. 

He let out a moan and then giggled at my reaction. I realized I wasn’t the only one letting loose in the room. Winston had made a mess of the bed sheets beneath him. After changing them, we laid in bed and just stared into each other's eyes for awhile. We fell asleep doing this, and when we woke the clock read 9 PM. Not wanting to sleep, but not wanting to do anything really, we just laid in bed and talked. 

“Winston, why did you choose me?” I asked.

“I’m assuming the same reason you came back to me after homecoming. There’s just something about you, I just can’t get you out of my head.”

I wouldn’t say it, but I felt the exact same.   
“How could you still like me after…..after all the shit I’ve done to not only you, but everyone?” I wanted to know how someone so perfect would even want to talk to me.

“Monty, you need to stop this whole self deprecating thing. Yes, you fucked up. But I can see past that, I can see you. Not the face you used to put on with anger, but the real you, your real heart. All the shit you did is in the past. You’ve paid the price for it. All you can do now is move on and change your ways.”

I smiled in response. 

“What was it like at Hillcrest? Do you miss it?” I was curious what kind of school Bryce had spent his final days in.

His smile dropped. At first, I thought maybe it was because he missed his friends there, but then he began telling me about the nightmare that was Hillcrest.

“Actually, it was pretty bad. I never made any friends so I was always super lonely. I would always just eat alone in the photography lab since everyone thought I was a freak. I got bullied a lot, picked on for being openly gay. The only connections I really had were closeted classmates who only wanted to hook up for a night then pretend they didn’t know me.”

“Oh…I’m sorry.” Was all I managed to say. I mean how was I supposed to respond to that.

After, he cuddled up to me, and fell asleep in my arms. I was quick to follow.

The next morning, I actually woke up in a good mood. Winston started stirring when I did as he was still laying in my arms. Winston was a real morning person, like seize the day type. I just wanted to lay in bed but he basically forced me to get up with him and go downstairs. 

We decided to try and make waffles from scratch. Lets just say it didn’t go as planned. By the end, there was a mix of flour, batter and all kinds of stuff all over the counter. But somehow, we managed to pull it off and eventually we were sitting in silence while eating. Eventually, Winston broke the silence.

“There’s this thing today, I thought we could go, I mean if you wanted to.” He said.

“What is it?” I asked. He seemed nervous when he asked and it was making me nervous.

“Just a little Christmas market in town. I thought it’d be fun.” He said.

I had to think for a moment. Being out to a couple friends was one thing. But the entire town. That was a big leap. But I ultimately decided it was a leap I needed to take. I also wasn’t really into holidays, but if it meant spending more time with him I was in.

“Yeah, sure.” I said plainly while still eating. Pretending like it wasn’t a big deal.

He had a huge smile on his face as he responded with “Okay, cool.”

He told me it wasn’t until 5 PM that night, it was only 11:30 AM right now, so I told him I had to run home and quickly do some stuff, but that I would come back. I hated lying to him, but I couldn’t tell him what I was about to do before doing it, then I would change my mind. 

My stomach did flips the entire way, but soon, I was outside Monet’s. I walked inside and sat at a table near the back so I could watch the door. I picked up my phone and checked the time. 12:10 PM it read. 5 more minutes. I then reread the text I had sent to Tyler Down earlier that morning:

“Tyler, there’s some things I have to say to you. If you are willing to speak to me I will be at Monet’s at 12:15. I will stay until 12:30. I understand if you never want to look at me again.”

I couldn’t fucking believe I was doing this. I was gonna be face to face with the person whose life I completely ruined. And I had to apologize. I knew I had to do it eventually, so I just decided to get it over with. I knew I would never move on if I didn’t. He had actually asked me for one in school before, way before I was arrested. I wanted to so badly, but I couldn't bring myself to, so instead I basically told him to fuck off and implied that Bryce was the one who told me to do it. It was poor decision making, but like always I said what I needed to to get out of the situation, even if it involved blaming someone else.

My clock now read 12:20, when I looked back up, I felt the same as I did at the assembly, like vomiting profusely. Tyler had just walked in, and was making his way towards me. I probably looked like I had just seen a ghost. Wide eyes, following him, mouth hanging open, and pale skin. He sat down and spoke immediately.

“What do you want Monty?” He asked aggressively.

“I…….ugh I….” I didn’t know what to say. I had envisioned in my head what to say but I didn’t think he’d actually show. I wasn’t prepared.

After a moment of me saying “ughhh.” He scoffed and said “I knew I shouldn’t have come.”

He was about to get up when I blurted out “I’m fucking sorry.” That got his attention, he regained eye contact with me and stared, waiting for more.

“I’m really sorry. I mean, I ruined your fucking life. I’ll never be able to take back what I did, but just know how fucking sorry I am. I’ll never be able to explain why I did what I did. I think it’s my anger. I let the rage take over and I act out, even when it’s really not what's in my heart.” If you had asked me a year ago if I would ever pour my heart out to Tyler Down, I pry would've punched you, but here I was.

“Why’d you stand at the assembly?” He asked. This caught me off guard and at first I didn’t respond so he continued. “It’d be really fucked up if you just did it to get people to stop looking at you as a rapist.” He said. Wow, this kid had really gained some attitude I thought to myself.

“It wasn’t a lie. When I was a little kid, my dad did some shit to me. Some really fucked up shit.” I said, not wanting to explain more.

“Oh...I’m sorry.” He said.

“You have nothing to be sorry for. I’m the one who fucked up and I’m the one who’s sorry. I just wanted you to also know I’m trying to change. Trying to work on my anger issues and shit.” I said.

After a moment of thought, he said “Well, actually, I forgive you. I never thought I would say that but when I heard you died I felt true sadness for you. I was the reason you were in that situation that you died in. I felt responsible. I thought you deserved it but you don’t, and I was relieved when I found out you were alive. I realized then that I had forgiven you.”

I was in shock. All I could say was a quiet “Thank you.”

He stood up after nodding his head. Before leaving he turned and said, “Goodbye Monty.”

I replied with a simple “Goodbye.” Before he turned and left.

I sat for a few more minutes lost in thought. I couldn’t fucking believe I had done it. It felt like a huge weight was off my chest. I felt like a new person. I guess this is what it felt like to have a clean slate. Well, sort of, I knew most people would still remember me as the rapist. I felt like I should tell Winston, so I texted him and told him my errands were finished and I was coming back. When he opened the door, I leaned in and kissed him like it was our last kiss ever. He seemed to notice my passion as he said “Wow.”

We walked in, sat on the couch and I began telling him what I had just done.

“So, I need to tell you something.” I started.

“What’s up?” He asked.

I got straight to the point. “I just apologized to Tyler.”

He looked up from his phone with a look of shock.  
“Holy shit, how’d it go?” He asked.

“Good, really good actually.”

“I’m glad, god, I am so proud of you.” He said and then kissed me before I could respond.

We still had some time to kill before we had to leave, so we just watched TV until then. 4:30 came quick and we were heading out to the market. It was a 30 minute drive to the opposite side of town on the outskirts. He drove. On the drive I mostly just looked out the window and listened to the music he was playing. He pulled into the lot and parked. I looked at it and it actually looked pretty nice. Lots of lights and decorations. I knew he loved Christmas so I knew he’d love this. 

We walked in and started browsing through the booths of knick knacks and other Christmas stuff. At some point, he grabbed my hand and I let him. I interlaced our fingers. It felt amazing and so freeing not to care about what other people thought. After looking for a while, I finally found a nice necklace for Estela, and a cool cooking set for my mom since she loved to cook and bake. I told Winston I was gonna run to the bathroom, but I actually wanted to go buy him his gift. I saw it when we first walked in. It was an old antique looking camera, I knew he loved photography and camera’s so I thought it’d be the perfect gift. I bought it, slipped it into the bag with the other gifts and returned to him. He luckily didn’t question where I went. 

It was an outdoor market and Winston couldn’t stop staring at the light decorated trees.

“I just love the way they did it.” He said

I hummed in agreement. When we rounded the corner I couldn’t believe who was there. Scott and Charlie. They looked as surprised as we did.

“Hey, what are you idiots doing here?” I asked.

“Just Christmas shopping.” Scotty answered quickly and Charlie nodded in agreement. 

“Oh, nice. Same.” I said.

“Want to hangout with us guys?” Charlie asked.

“Sure” I said and Winston seemed to agree. 

We sat and had hot chocolate and laughed at the usual stuff. Charlie and Winston were getting along really well. I knew that would happen. Pry because they’re both like little kids in a teenager's body. Scott was getting on well with him too. Eventually, we decided it was time for us to leave. We said goodbye to Scott and Charlie and headed back to the car. I hadn’t even thought of it before we got in the car, I decided to share these thoughts with Winston.

“You think something was going on there? Between those two?” I asked. Thinking back to how fast Scotty answered when I asked why they were there.

“No, I mean they are friends, probably just hanging out or something.” He said

“Yeah, I guess.” I said. Not wanting to pursue it any further. But I couldn’t stop the wonder of why it was only the two of them hanging out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you thought of the interaction and where you think I should head with the final part!


	11. New Traditions

It was now Sunday. Me and Winston did our usual routine of waking up and attempting to make breakfast. Today was an important day though. In a few minutes we were going to Diego’s, along with Charlie, Scott, Luke and Estela. It was day one of hunting down a killer. 

Me and Winston were the first ones there. Soon, Scott and Luke, then Charlie and Estela joined us. We decided our best list of suspects were the ones who initially framed me.

-Justin Foley

-Jessica Davis

-Ani Achola

-Alex Standall

-Clay Jensen

-Zach Dempsey

-Tyler Down

We left Charlie off the list since he gave us all the names and he had already said sorry. We also knew that he could never kill Bryce since he felt remorse after killing bugs. The only thing that kid knows is cookies and endless happiness I swear. The thing he didn’t know though, was if someone in that group killed Bryce. He said they had never told him who the real killer was, that Justin had made him do that thing with the tape and after he did hangout with them at Clay’s but they never explicitly said who killed him. Diego started to chime in after.

“What about Bryce’s ex? Chloe. I mean there were some rumours a while back that Bryce had gotten her pregnant. And apparently, he had raped her too.” Diego said.  
After a moment of thought, Scott spoke up. “No, I don’t think so, I’m friends with her and she is so sweet and doesn’t even hangout with that group besides Zach once in a while.”

“Ya, she doesn’t strike me as the killer type.” I said.

“I think it was Clay. The police said they had tons of evidence on him.” Estela stated.

I nodded and remembered how Charlie said that Justin told him they were only framing me to get the attention away from Clay, if he wasn’t the killer why were they so fucking paranoid.

“Something still doesn’t add up though.” Charlie was now speaking. “How did Ani frame a supposedly dead person and then get away with it with no repercussions. I mean it seems as though she’s gotten no form of punishment for framing Monty.”

“What cop did she talk to?” Luke asked. I knew where he was going with this and it started to make sense.

“Deputy Standall I think.” Charlie replied.

I fucking knew it. Deputy Standall was in on it. At least on some level. That’s how the charges got put through so fast and why the trial happened so quickly. He was trying to make this go away as fast as possible.

“Well, now we know it’s one of them. He’s trying to watch out for his little shit son and his friends.” I said. 

“What about Jessica? I mean she had the most motive.” Winston said, pausing before continuing “He raped her, and then he got off with a slap on the wrist.”

He was right. She did have the most motive. He lied through his teeth at the trial and got a little bit of probation which half the time he didn’t have to follow since his parents paid off the probation officer.

“It has to be either Jessica or Justin, or both I think. I mean, they finally have enough of Bryce and Jessica gets her boyfriend Foley to go kill him. Or they both do it.” Estela says. 

“Why doesn’t Charlie just go down to the police station and blow their whole cover?” Diego asked.

“Because, we don’t have any evidence and they all have alibis. They're all covering for each other and we have no proof at all that they weren’t where they say they were. Charlie stated, and he was right. We needed to start gathering some serious evidence. 

After a little more arguing over who could’ve done it we decided to end our first little meeting. It was 2 days until Christmas and we all had shit to do. Me and Winston decided to head back to his house of course. When we got there, we initially headed for his room, but his mom stopped him and said she needed to talk to him. I hadn’t even noticed she had returned from her work trip, it seems neither did he, he looked surprised. He told me he’d meet me upstairs. I felt kinda worried, his parents never really talked to him and when they did it was always something serious. 

When he came in finally, he looked frustrated and sad. I felt sick. I was so worried, what could possibly be wrong. He sat beside me and stared at the floor.

“What’d she wanna talk about?” I asked, getting straight to the point.

“My parents are leaving tonight for another work trip. They got back from this one early and thought they could stay. They are not gonna be home till January 2nd.” I could tell he was disappointed. I knew he loved Christmas and this must be hard not getting to spend it with his parents. But I decided I was gonna make sure he had an amazing Christmas.

“Pack your bag.” I said.

He looked at me confused. What? Why?” He asked.

“You are spending Christmas with the De La Cruz family this year.” I said

This actually seemed to lift his spirits and he smiled. “Are you sure your family will be fine with that?” 

“They will be happy to have you.” I replied. 

He immediately got up and started packing some clothes for the next few days. He then said we needed to go to the mall as he needed to buy some gifts for my mom and sister. I told him a million times he didn’t need to but he was so goddamn persistent I caved.

“Soooo what do you think Estela would want?” He asked.

“I don’t fucking know. Just get her a gift card or something.” I said.

“I am not getting her a gift card. That’s the easy way out so no.” 

I rolled my eyes and chuckled at how much this was stressing him out. 

“I don’t know, just like get her a makeup set or something.” I said. Knowing how much she loved her makeup.  
So that’s what he did. But not just any set. He made it his mission to find the fanciest, most expensive one. Next on his list was my mom.

“Don’t even ask what to get my mom. She’s pretty much been a mute my entire life while my dad was around.” I said before he could ask what she likes. Because I actually had no idea.

“How about one of those charm bracelets? Like from Pandora?” He said and it actually wasn’t a bad idea.

After getting it, along with a little heart charm to put on it, it was my turn to shop. I had no idea what to get Estela and my mom. This was the first time we were even getting presents for each other. My dad never wanted to waste money on them so it never happened. I was clueless. I didn’t have much money either, so I had to budget.

After Winston made me look through enough stores to make my head explode, I finally managed to make a decision. I got Estela a new flannel (a staple piece of clothing in our house) and got my mom a picture frame. The reason being I was gonna have Winston take a picture of me, mom and Estela on Christmas, without my father. To symbolize the first Christmas we were actually happy. It actually almost felt nice, buying shit for other people. God, Winston really was turning me soft.

We decided to eat in the mall food court. We got our burgers, and sat down. 

“So, what does the De La Cruz family do for Christmas?” He asked.

“Well, for my whole life it’s usually been like every other family dinner. My dad gets drunk and bitches out my mom because he didn’t like what she cooked.” I said.

He looked surprised. I could tell he didn’t know what to say, so I filled the silence. 

“This year is gonna be different though. My dads finally gone, and we can finally act like a normal family.” I said. Before asking “What about the William’s family?”

“Well, usually all my extended family comes over. They’re all also very rich so they mostly just talk about rich people stuff, the country club, which model Porsche they are buying next, all such exciting things.” He said sarcastically. “I usually just go on my phone and try to seem interested when people actually notice I’m there and try to make conversation.”

“Seems a lot better than my fucked up family I said.” I’d rather be bored than listening to my dad's drunken rants.

Winston kinda chuckled. And I followed. This was fucked up. Laughing at how messed up both our lives were.   
“Hey mom!” I yelled as we walked through the door. Winston followed right behind. After greeting us, I told her my plans.

“Winston’s parents are gone, can he spend Christmas with us?” I asked. 

She didn’t even need to think. “Yes of course!” She said excitedly.

“By the way, your abuelos will be here tomorrow night for dinner.” She continued before walking away.

I stood in shock. I hadn’t seen my grandparents in like 10 years. And it had been almost a year since I talked to them on the phone last. It was my mom's parents, my dad’s were still in Mexico and we never really talked to them. My mom’s lived in Oakland. I always liked them. When I was a little kid they would take me on little adventures like hiking and to the beach and me and Estela used to go stay with them a lot. My dad never liked them though of course, so he tried to keep us away from them. A lot was going to change now that he was gone, change that was long overdue.

After realizing we were still standing in the entrance of my house, we went upstairs so Winston could put his stuff in my room. That didn’t last long. As soon as he put his bag down Estela barged in and dragged us downstairs to help decorate the Christmas tree with her. More dragged me, Winston loved Christmas so he was overjoyed to do it. 

I reluctantly and slowly put up decorations while Estela and Winston had a good pace going while chatting away. Estela was a big chatter. She asked him endless questions about how he was liking Liberty, how I was treating him, but one question made my heart sink, she asked how we met. I remembered the party, where I beat him up. Jesus, I would do anything to take that back. He shot me a glance and smiled, then answered.

“Well, Bryce brought him to a Hillcrest party back in the summer.” He started. I was starting to sweat.

“We ended up talking and really hitting it off. We exchanged numbers and ended up hanging out more that summer.” He said.

I breathed a sigh of relief. That was how I wished the whole summer went. Estela bought it and of course commented how cute it was. Finally, we finished the tree and managed to escape back to my room. 

“I want to thank you, for letting me celebrate with you and your family.” He said as I closed the door.

I still had my back to him “Yeah, of course…..” He cut me off by sticking his tongue down my throat. 

“No, I want to really thank you.” He said.

Oh, so that's what he had in mind. I thought while smiling.

He went down to his knees and started unbuckling my belt, he then pulled down my pants and boxers revealing my already very hard cock.

“Try to stay quiet.” He said. 

He started sucking and I was having a lot of trouble containing any noise. I had to remind myself that my mom and sister were right outside that door.

Eventually, I felt myself getting close and this was gonna be the ultimate test of how quiet I can be. 

I don’t even know how I managed it, but I came and managed to keep my mouth shut and the noise level down the entire time. 

I didn’t even realize how tired I was till after. I threw off my pants and shirt and got into bed in just my underwear. Winston of course wore pajamas, but he snuggled up next to me and we both fell asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Get ready for Christmas coming in the next one!


End file.
